Restart
by Masseffect-TxS
Summary: When the world is destroyed and all that he has known has been taken away from him. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future that is yet to come...just not the way he expected. I don't own RWBY or any of its spin-offs.
1. Chapter I: From the Ashes

RWBY: Restart

When the world is destroyed and all that he has known is taken from. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future...just not the way he expected.

* * *

Chapter I: From the Ashes

* * *

Smoke and fire slowly drifted into the air, as a desolate city burned in the night. The once-bustling city of New Haven was reduced to nothing but rubble and ash with black bipedal beasts roaming the streets clad in white bone-like masks and pitch-black fur. Their feet pounding against the cracked pavement and broken glass as they scurried through the empty streets. Looking for something to devour, consume and fill their stomachs.

These were the creatures of Grimm, monsters that feed on the anger and hatred of mankind, laying siege to many homes and ending many lives in their destructive need for hunger. They were the darkness that opposed the light and all that it stood for. They were the beasts that consumed all semblance of light in the world, with mankind being the only ones brave enough to face them.

But now the light of humanity had been diminished and the darkness had won. Now there was only Grimm...

While roaming the streets of Haven, one beast stopped in its tracks as the monster's enhanced sense of smell sniffed the air. A familiar scent of human flesh captured its sense, as it went looking for its next meal.

Right before its head exploded as a black-robed figure descended from a desolate building as he drew a sword and sliced another of the beast's head off.

The figure rolling on the ground before he sliced at the creatures left and right of him before drawing a bronze shield from his back and successfully deflected an attack from behind. The man moved with grace and a terrifying ferocity that came with years of training and survival, showing that he had survived in this hell far longer than most.

He drew back the large circular object in his hand, as he threw the shield and watched it rebounded off a wall and smack against another monster's face. Distorting it long enough for the man to drive his blade through its chest, and impaling the creature into the ground. The beast made no sound as it slowly dissolved into small specks of dust and scattered to the wind, reunited with the oblivion from which it came from.

"Disgusting beast..." the man said he sheathed his sword and walked over to pick up the old worn shield he had thrown.

His hand traced delicately over the worn metal, as a look of longing crossed his concealed face and an aura of depression shrouded his form. Loud roars sounded in the distant as he placed the shield on his back and dashed away from the scene. He knew full well that the Grimm tended to avenge their fallen pack members, no matter how long it would take them.

But by the time they got there, he would be long gone...

The man travelled long and far before he reached a cave sealed off by a large boulder. With tremendous strength and ease, he pushed aside the boulder before he entered the cave and placed the boulder back into place, sealing himself inside from the monster outside.

He sighed a breath of relief as he removed his gear and placed it on the ground near a makeshift bed, before removing the cloth that covered his face as dull blue eyes scanned the cavern. His eyes falling upon a set of broken and worn weapons lined along the wall, as a wave of nostalgia and regret crashed into his soul.

Along the wall stood many weapons that he had managed to collect or reforge from a time long ago.

A giant red scythe with a pair of golden gauntlets was placed carefully beneath a rapier, with a black katana like blade sheathed next to a large War Hammer with two bladed-submachine guns by its side. Two golden rings hung suspended from a small piece of string as the small bands of metal glimmered in the pale light of the fire.

In the middle was a red and gold Javelin, that stood absently amongst the wall before he carefully placed the shield alongside the weapon. Tied around the reforged javelin was a faded picture of a girl with red hair and emerald green eyes smiling in the sun.

He looked at the wall as more weapons decorated the cave, ranging from nunchuck shotguns to small boxes holding untold secrets that could only be wielded by one person.

The man sighed deeply as he sat down and looked at the weapons before him. Faces and names passing his mind, as his dull blue eyes wandered over each weapon before he placed his hands on his head and removed his hood. Revealing blond hair tied back in a small ponytail at the base of his neck, with dark blue eyes that held only sorrow and regret with a face that was scared and worn, with evidence of fatigue clearly etched upon his features.

This man was revealed to be Jaune Arc, the last survivor of Beacon Academy and former leader of Team JNPR or whatever was left of them. Now no more than a lonely survivor, who wished for nothing more than death.

But what had caused the once cheerful young man to become nothing but a shell of his former self?

The answer...was the Second Great War and the End of Everything.

Ten Years ago the world had fallen to the Grimm, as the kingdoms that once stood as bastions of light against the darkness now lay in ruin and despair. Jaune was one of the only few survivors to escape Vale when the Grimm invaded and the world had begun to lose the war.

At first, mankind attempted to fight back against the Grimm and retake their homes. But because of Salem's ultimate plan, communications between the four kingdoms had been permanently cut and the trust between them was shattered. Meaning there was no way to reestablish communication and coordinate a successful attack against the then it was all a matter of survival.

Clever tactics and strategies were ineffective against the beasts, as more and more of his friends became sacrifices, to ensure that he and the others would survive.

It was a hopeless struggle in a world that had long given up on them.

Team RWBY died during the final assault on Salem's domain, each of them protecting their teammates for as long as they could. Ruby and Weiss were the last to fall as they died to defeat Salem and ending her reign of terror at the cost of their own lives. Jaune had held the broken remains of his friend as she died in his arms, smiling as she saved the world from Salem's wrath.

Ruby always wanted to be a hero...and she died like one too.

Yet despite their victory, their sacrifice only bought them little time, before the Grimm would overrun them all. Hundreds of settlements and cities fell to the Grimm as more and more lives were lost to the Beasts of Darkness. For a time it was just himself, Nora, Ren, Fox, Yatsuhashi and Russell that were left to pick up the pieces.

But just like team RWBY, they all fell as well.

He then had to watch, as he alone was the only one to survive each battle against the Grimm, only piling on the guilt that clawed at the very edges of his heart.

The last to go was Ren and Nora as they died in a giant explosion, taking many Grimm with them before the end, with the only thing that Jaune could salvage from them were their weapons and two gold rings. A symbol of the love they shared with each other.

Until he was the last one left. One of the last humans left on this Earth.

Humanity had Fallen

He had heard of possible survivors years ago, but Jaune had all but stopped caring at that point. There was nothing left for him anymore. Now he only wanted to find a fitting end for him and rejoin his friends and loved ones on the other side. He ran his fingers delicately over the golden shield and grasped the photo in his hand.

"I'm sorry we didn't have more time together Pyrrha, I just wish I could go back and change everything. If I could then maybe you...Maybe you wouldn't have had to sacrifice yourself against that bitch..."

He still remembered that terrible day years ago. The day he lost the only one who cared for him and believed in him. The pain and regret that forever haunted him echoed in his solitude as it reminded him of how alone he truly was. But his eyes grew dull and lifeless as he looked at her smiling face...

"But you can't change the past...no matter how much you want it to..."

He got up as he walked towards the table as he sat down and wrote in a small journal that he kept by his side. He didn't know why he wrote in this old worn book when he knew no one would be left to read it. Maybe it was to leave a message behind for who _might_ have survived and stumbled across his own corpse. Or maybe it was to write down the guilt and regret that constantly plagued his heart and scarred his mind for the past ten years.

Whatever the reason he had, it was a way to recall the events that he wished he could change.

* * *

 _Journal of Jaune Arc of the Year X337 Ten years since Beacon Fall...and the end of the human race._

 _Ten years...Ten years since the world turned into a living hell and yet I'm the only one that's still alive, isn't that a joke, huh?_

 _Everything went to hell after the Vytal Festival, a time of peace turned into a bloody war._ _We were infiltrated and deceived by a Woman named Cinder Fall and her Master Salem. They killed our friends, broke the strength of our fellow huntsman and was responsible for killing my partner and the woman I never even got the chance to love...Pyrrha Nikos..._

 _They are responsible for all of this._

 _Cinder and her master - with the help of disgraced Atlas Scientist Arthur Watts - crippled our communications and left the Academies in complete disarray and had the entire Vale Council assassinated...and took away the woman that I never got to love. She had achieved all of this by hacking into the CCT, which gave her unlimited access to our systems._

 _She used to learn all of our strengths and weaknesses. Manipulated the White Fang to further their own goals, then disposed of them when their job was done._

 _The White Fang was solely blamed for the fall of Vale and was systematically hunted down as the Kingdom of Atlas destroyed them one-by-one. Slaughtering and killing practically every member of the White Fang on the planet, save for Blake as she had left them long ago with her parents. But this action practically put the Faunus race to the point of extinction._

 _Blake's old mentor, Adam Taurus, who took control of the White Fang, died in the mass genocide only just realising that he had been deceived by his 'Ally'..._ _I only wish I could have paid him back for what he did to Yang._

 _All of it was just to acquire a powerful Relic that was hidden beneath each Academy of the Four Kingdoms, sealed in Vaults that could only be open by the Power of the Maidens._

 _Cinder used them to distract the teachers, while stole the power and used it to strengthen her own. She became more powerful than anyone possibly imagine. She and her allies then hunted down the rest of the Maidens and extracted their powers before killing them like animals, making them an unstoppable force._

 _With the White Fang defeated, the Kingdoms destroyed and the spirits of every hunter in the world broken, there was no one left to stop them. No one to oppose Salem's rule as she gathered the Maidens and the Relics that lay beneath the schools. And for a brief moment, Salem was the ruler of everything. Her plan had succeeded had she not overlooked one crucial thing..._

 _The Will of Humanity_

 _She had underestimated us and grew overconfident in her reign, she never expected a full frontal assault with what we had left. A united assault of the last remaining Faunus and Human that were so desperate that we led the final charge to her stronghold and brought her to her knees._

 _Thanks to Ruby's power of the Silver Eyed Warriors, the new Faunus Rights Movement led by Blake and Ghira Belladonna, and the rest of our teams we marched on her fortress and ended her once and for all._

 _And even though Cinder apparently died at Haven, the war was far from over as we had to take down Salem and stop her from using the Relics. And for a moment we succeeded..._

 _But as it turned out, Salem had one last trick up her sleeve._

 _With the last of her strength, she used the last energies of the Maidens powers to unlock a seal placed long ago by a powerful sorcerer. A seal that held back a power like no other in this world. A power so great, that not even Ruby's Silver Eyes had a chance to stop it. A terrifying creature the world has ever know from the deepest depths of darkness..._

 _The Grimm King...The true Master of all Grimm._

 _This Kingdom devouring monster of legend was awakened by the hate and violence of the worldwide war and the seal broken by the power of the four maidens. It practically destroyed the entire Resistance Army in a matter of seconds and we lost more than half of the civilian population trying to escape. Worst of all practically all of the senior hunters died trying to save them._

 _All of our training and all of our equipment was no match for its raw power._

 _No one could possibly stand up to the ferocity of the Grimm King. Not even the Legendary hunters like Qrow and Raven could defeat it...they died barely weakening the beast._ _And Salem..._

 _Salem died at Ruby's hands. Stabbed in the chest and left to bleed to death on her own throne._

 _Turns out she planned to control he Grimm King by using the Relics to take his powers and reshape the world in her own image. Making it serve her like an obedient pet. But with her gone, and her spell partially formed, the Grimm King only had half his strength when he was awakened. But even at half his strength, the Grimm King was too much for anyone and we were forced to flee._

 _And the Relics? They were destroyed in the final battle between the Resistance and Salem, and the Maidens were powerless against it. We had nothing to stop it, for it could destroy half a city with just a swing of its tail._

 _Who could kill something like that?_

 _Realising that there was no hope left, the Resistance army scattered and the last of our forces were decimated in the final confrontation with the Grimm King_ _._

 _Ironwood was torn to shreds by the king with his assistant, Winter Schnee, dying to save her sister Weiss. I remember how devastated she was that day, and I don't think Weiss ever truly got over that._

 _I can hardly blame her, even my own family was torn to sunder..._

 _Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai were both killed by the Monster as well. I took some satisfaction in that, especially after what those two had done to my friends. I only wish I could have done it myself. That does sound dark of me I know, but when you watch as the people you care about are crippled, broken, framed or even killed by people like that._

 _Who shows no remorse and take a sick pleasure in it..._ _You can't help but let those dark thoughts in._ _It's the only thing left that reminds me that I'm human...crazy huh?_

 _As for Roman Torchwick and Neo...Roman had died four years before during the Beacon Invasion, while no one has seen or heard anything about Neo for ten years now. But then again, with the state of the world now, she's most likely dead._

 _For the next seven years after it was nothing but hit and run, just trying to survive and rebuild what was broken. But none of it mattered as we were slowly consumed by the darkness as The Grimm Kings flames scorched everything in sight...so I trained and prepared for our final battle..._

 _But also, I looked for Cinder because I still believed she was out there, despite what Raven claimed. She's still out there because we never had the Fall Madien by our side and Emerald never claimed it..._

 _Which meant she's still alive...but not for long_ _...But in the end, what will it matter?_

 _I lost too many friends to that beast...I've lost so much... I have nothing left..._ _why is it that I'm the only one to survive when there were so many others that should have outlived me?_

 _Why is it that I'm the last one to stand amongst the corpses of my friends? The corpse of the one woman who saw me as something more than a failure?_

 _Why do I have to carry on alone?_

* * *

Jaune breathed out as he rubbed his hands over his face, frustration and regret clearly etched on his face as he tried to hide it behind his hands. Peeking through his fingers, he looked up at the large wall of the cave. Multiple photographs and hastily scribbled notes decorated the maps with red strings lined across the wall of his cavern.

All of them focused on one picture of a woman with ashen black hair.

Cinder Fall

Nine years ago, Raven claimed to have killed her under Haven Academy where we took the first of the Relics, the Relic of Knowledge. Many of my friends believed her, but Jaune never did. Because Emerald never showed signs of having the Maidens powers, and there had been no one else to inherit the power...

Which meant she was alive...and that made him angirer...becuas she needs to die by _his hand_ and his hand alone. For all that she had taken from him. and all the lives she hurt.

He glared as he walked over and placed another dagger on the map as he narrowed his eyes and turned around to the wall of weapons as a dark and cold glint glowed in his eyes.

 _For the past seven years, I have done nothing but search for her..._

He grabbed Crescent Rose as he folded the massive weapon into its compact form, fitting the massive weapon onto the back of his waist.

 _Looking into every clue, every rumour and every sighting of that vile woman..._

He grabbed a golden bracelet as he slipped it onto his wrists. The bracelets mechanism shifted into its gauntlet form, before retreating back into its inactive form.

 _Searching every lead and turning over every stone I could find...just for even the chance to find her..._

He grabbed the rapier as he spun the revolver like mechanism in the chamber, before sheathing the blade onto his belt.

 _But now I've finally found her...I've finally found Cinder..._

The black katana and the large war hammer were placed on his back, as he holstered the two guns on his thighs.

 _She is hiding out in one of the Schnee's old research facility's here in Vale. She has been holding up there for the last year or so, surrounded by the monster that she had sought to control, doing god only knows what behind those iron doors..._

He then placed his white sheath on his left forearm as a clam breath left his body before he turned over to the last weapon amongst the wall...

 _But now she has nowhere else to go...no more allies or pup_ _pets that she can manipulate...no more mice to follow her decree..._

He picked up the round shield as he ran his hand delicately over the beautiful carvings on the bronze shield. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he placed the shield on his back and grabbed the reforged javelin in his hand and moved to the table.

 _I go now knowing that I will not return from this quest for vengeance...this is the last mission of Beacon Academy..._

 _The last mission of RWBY, JNPR, and RNJR..._

He touched the journal on the table before he closed its pages and walked over to the large boulder before moving it to the side. He gave one last look to the cave as he shook his head and slowly closed the cave behind him.

 _To anyone who finds this, my name is...was...Jaune Arc the last human left on Remnant...and I swear, I will kill her before this day is done...and then..._

 _I will have my end_

* * *

Schnee Research Facility, outside the Kingdom of Vale

* * *

The beasts of Grimm, roared and banged on the large iron doors that protected this facility. The iron doors dented and bent to near out of shape, but denied the beast entry into the building carved into the side of the mountain.

The beast could smell the lone human inside its walls; the smell of human flesh enticed them and drew them to her location. It had been so long since they had feasted on human flesh, so long since they feasted on rich human blood or chewed upon their delicious bones. But the iron gates that barred them from their meal, denied them what they rightfully deserved.

The metal gates lasting for many a moon for them and their brethren. But they knew somehow, that even these large metal walls would break, and then they would feast upon the delicious meat inside.

The beasts were about to barge again when an object slammed into the courtyard, kicking up a large plume of dust and wind.

The beasts snarled as they turned their attention to the pillar of dust, only for a Golden Javelin to shoot out of the dust and impale the Beowulf through its chest pinning the beast to the wall and making the beast screamed in pain. Surprised the beasts turned as they roared at the one who would dare harm their brother. And as the dust cleared a lone figure stood in the middle of the courtyard as a black cloak shrouded his form.

He held a silver sword with a white shield in his hands as his eyes glowed bright white and glared at the beasts. The beasts roared as they charged the man, only to be cut down as he swung his sword in a perfect arch. Limbs and bodies parts flying in the air as pitch black smoke drifted from their corpses.

The man jumped back as another of the beast clawed at him, only for the man to stab him in the chest and slam his shield into its snout. The beast face instantly caved in, as the man spun around and sliced a Creeper in half. No emotion or fear on his face, as his eyes were focused and cold. The man continued to slaughter the beasts with no sign of stopping or slowing down.

He was like an unstoppable Demon, in which nothing could stop him.

The last Beowulf soon fell to his feet, he sheathed the blade to his arm and walked calmly over to the last Beowulf that had been impaled by the Red Javelin.

The beast whimpered in pain as beady red eyes looked into cold blue orbs, pleading and begging the human to show the slightest bit of mercy and put it out of its misery. The man reached for the shaft and twisted the spear harshly, causing the beast to howl in pain before falling limp upon its steel.

He then pulled the spear from the wall as the decaying body collapsed onto the ground.

He gazed up at the large metal doors which barred him from the one he sought. But unlike the Grimm that tried before him, he wasn't going to let a mere piece of metal get in his way.

He reared back his right arm as his fist began to glow bright white, a white-clawed gauntlet took its place as he focused his aura and sent it forward. The giant metal doors exploding off its hinges and tumbled across the large open hall of the facility as the loud noise echoing in the building.

Jaune aimed the rifle down the hall as he scanned the hallway with his flashlight, as evidence of a battle was ever present on the walls. Bullet holes, bloodstains and skeletons of those who once lived here now littered the hall. But Jaune had little care as he walked down the hall. His mind was set and his resolve was absolute as he followed the soft haunting music that played in the distance on a record player.

'Mirror Mirror Acoustic Version' a song that Weiss had sung so long ago...one that he kept close to his heart.

He soon reached the last door at the end of the hall as a soft red light glowed from the room. Sheathing the spear to his back, the face and memories of his friends and family came flooding back to him. Their smiles and laugher a distant echo in his ear as the music softly played.

This was the moment he was waiting for so many years now.

This was the moment that he had dreamed for so many years.

To finally avenge the people who were lost, the families that were destroyed and the lives that had yet to be born.

He glared as he slammed his hands into the door and rocked them off their hinges. The doors sliding across the floor as a cloud of dust rose from the ground. Jaune had no idea what to expect when he would meet the one who had dammed the whole world.

The one who had caused all of his friends and family to die. The one who set the whole world on fire. He expected a woman who was absolute in her beliefs; thinking that everything she had done was the right choice, who had long since denied her actions and sought for an answer as to why her plan had failed.

But as he walked into the room that was illuminated by small red candles, he noticed hundreds and thousands of papers and red strings littered and spread across the room. Each one pointing to a different section of her master plan, each one pointing to the outcome she had predicted...But blood red words were strung across the pages that repeated over and over again one phrase...

-It's all my fault-

He walked over to the middle of the room as she sat on her makeshift throne. When he had seen her so long ago, she was beautiful and ruthless with a dangerous fire that burned in her eye...

Instead, what he found was a broken woman, her ashen-black hair had turned to grey and her once fire bright eye was nothing but a smouldering ember.

Her blood red dress was gone, leaving her in rags of black and ripped cloth. All semblance of the woman who had helped destroy the world was gone. All that remained was a husk of her former self, weak and pathetic, not even worth the vengeance that he had sought for so long. But he would have his vengeance one way or the other.

Cinder slowly turned her head to face him as a lone faded ember meet could blue eyes. A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she shook her head.

"It's been so long since I had a visitor..." She gazed at him as she leant forward in her seat. "May I ask who has graced me with their presence?"

Jaune breathed in deeply as he drew back his hood and revealed his face. Cold blue and angry eyes glared at her as she focused on his face.

"You don't remember me...but I remember you. Especially after what you did to my partner a long time ago, Pyrrha Nikos, does that name ring a bell?" the woman scrunched her face as she placed a hand on her head.

"Pyrrha Nikos...Pyrrha Nikos..." she muttered and whispered as if she was talking to no one else but herself. It almost seemed that the last seven years of solitude had made her lose her mind. "Ah yes I remember, she was Ozpin's choice as Guardian..." she looked up as she had a coy smile on her face.

"She wasn't much of a Guardian now was she?"

No sooner did she say that was a hand wrapped around her throat as she was lifted into the air. She gasped and wheezed for breath as she struggled against the man's grip. Cold blue eyes glared into hers as he brought her face to face with him.

"Right now, you are not in a position to say anything about her...Especially after everything you've done...for which you will die" he whispered dangerously as he squeezed her neck for emphasis before he threw her back into her seat, the throne slid back as she landed roughly. She coughed and gasped as she looked up in fear of the man as white flames slowly surrounded him.

"So why are you talking to me instead? Why not just kill me right now and have your vengeance?" Jaune shook his head as he sat down on a chair and glared at her.

"Don't mistake the situation, you are going to die, but not before I get my answers. Though I am surprised that you are alive, everyone thought Raven had killed you in the underground vault years ago. But not me, I knew you were still alive...but how, and why didn't you return to Salem?" he asked as Cinder sat up on her makeshift throne.

"Luck honestly, and the small amount of power I had left to unfreeze myself before I plummeted to my 'death'. But I know I could not return to Salem after failing to retrieve the Relic. She doesn't...didn't take kindly to failures in her organization. So, I ran and hid from her for years...just like Ozpin did centuries ago..." she looked at the man as she narrowed her lone eye.

"But why haven't you killed me yet? Don't you want revenge for what I did to your partner? You did promise to kill me the last time we spoke," she asked as they both remembered their last confrontation back at Haven years ago. But Jaune shook his head as he glared at her.

"Becuase I've wanted to know the answer to the same question that has driven me for the past ten years...why? Why did you do all of this? Why did you ally yourself with 'her' and set the world on fire?" a soft sigh escaped her lips as she looked to the side.

"...Do you know of the Great War? The War waged between two factions of ideology?" Jaune nodded as he remembered the old story.

"The war between the Idealists and the Suppressionists? Yeah I know that story, my Great-Great Grandfather fought alongside the Idealists and the Warrior King long ago and helped bring an end to the Suppressionists. But all of its remaining members should have perished at Wind Gate?" She turned as she smirked slightly.

"...No...Not all of them perished to your ancestor's blade...my family was the last," Jaune's eyes widened slightly as she leant in her seat. She grabbed an apple from the bowl as she held it in her hand.

"When the Supersessionists had lost the war, we went underground and waited for the moment when your guard was lowered. We waited alone in the dark and the dirt until only I was left amongst what was once a proud and noble family...I honestly had thought that I would die before I had my revenge...Until 'She' came to me with an offer I could not refuse, a plan that would bring you all to your knees and sate my families vengeance."

"The plan would take time and I would have to wait patiently for the moment to strike. But I had patience, and I waited for the moment you had all become so consolidated in your seats of power that you would never notice the serpent silently sneak into your garden and steal the treasure that you guarded so closely...and crush you with it," she crushed the Apple as the pieces fell to the floor. She wiped the juice from her hand as she eyed the pieces of fruit on the floor, already the ants swarming over the ruined fruit.

"With her help, I planned to turn you upon yourself by letting loose the darkness that resided in you all and claim the power you had hidden from everyone...But then..." Jaune glared as he got up from his chair and stood before her.

"She betrayed you? You underestimated Salem's true intent and because you had been so focused on using our own darkness against us and claiming 'that' power, you never saw the knife she had pressed to your throat and before you knew it, the world was consumed by death and destruction..."

His hair shadowed his eyes as his aura flared outwards, small cracks formed around his feet as the whole building shook from the pressure. Cinder had wide eyes as the white fire danced around his form, making him taller and more terrifying.

"Because of you and your master's plan, you unleashed the greatest evil mankind has ever faced! Because of you, the entire human race is dead! Because of you, everyone I held dear to me is dead!" the ground cracked further as a Cinder began to choke on the pressure.

"Because of you! The woman I loved died before we even had a chance together! Because of you, I never got tell her that I loved her!"

A large shockwave blasted from his body as every candle was blown out by the wave. His aura swirling around his form as one lone candle burned between them, illuminating the room in a dark orange light. His breathing was heavy and his form shook as he reeled in the anger and hatred that had burned into his soul.

The countless years of anger and regret that he held inside burst forth and he showed his darker self. He breathed in gently and calmly as he looked at the terrified woman before her. The display of his power had frightened her to no end...

 _'Good...she needs this_ '

"Everything that has happened is your fault...every life that has been taken, every city that has fallen...and every child that will never live is dead because of you...this is all your fault." Cinder had a look of fear and guilt on her face as his words pierced her soul.

"You wanted power so badly that you'd risk everything for it? Well, congratulations you got what you wanted...all the power you can ever have...with nothing to do it..." his aura subsided as Cinder only gazed back in shock, before lowering her head in what Jaune could only assume was guilt or shame.

"Just be glad that Ruby killed your master years ago. Otherwise, you'd have been dead alongside your 'allies', if that's what you called them, not that it matters anymore...We're all dead anyway", he glared at her small frightened form.

"...What now?"

Silence filled the room as Jaune glared at the woman. Reaching into his cloak he drew forth a revolver as a slight look of fear entered her eyes, as he spun the chamber in his hands.

"...I think the answer is pretty obvious..."

He pointed the gun at her head as he pulled back the hammer. A deafening silence filled the air with the beating of her own heart echoing in her ears as she stared down the barrel of the loaded gun. Jaune glared at the woman as he aimed the gun at her head.

His hands were steady and his breathing was calm as if he had practised for this exact moment. The chance to end it once and for all and finally, avenge the ones that he loved...

But in a surprising turn of events, he dropped the pistol into her lap as she looked up in shock. A look of disgust on his face as he turned around to avoid looking at her least he changed his mind.

"...No...not like this...there is one bullet left in that chamber and I'm not going to sully my hands with your blood. Pyrrha wouldn't have wanted me to go down that path...I have more important things to take care of anyway. So, do me a favour and kill yourself...it's about the only thing you have left to take from me." he turned around as he made his way to the exit.

"You're going to face him, aren't you? The Grimm King?" he stopped at the doorway as he turned his head slightly in her direction. "You are going to try and kill him right?"

"...Yes...with Salem dead, there is no one left to control him, and with the Maiden's gone and the Relics destroyed there is no way to contain him. I'm going to go face him and I'm going to kill him. Least that way I'll rid this world of one less evil..."

"H-How are you going to face something like that? Not even the most experienced huntsman could face something of that magnitude and live! Not even my power or the Other Maidens was enough to defeat t-that monster! What makes you think you stand a chance!? What makes you any different from them!?"

Jaune said nothing as he looked down slightly to his hand as he raised his left hand before he clenched his fist and gazed back at her with an empty look in his eyes.

"Because I have nothing left to live for..."

Cinder looked at the man as she saw the hollow look in his eyes. The look of a man ready to die and leave this horrid world behind.

"I've spent the last seven years preparing myself for this moment and for the fact that he was weakened considerably when Salem died. I'm finally strong enough to kill him...but..." Cinder shook her head as she sighed at him.

"You'll die...won't you?"

Jaune looked back as he nodded with no hesitation in his eyes. Cinder sighed as she leant back in the chair. "Well then..." she checked the chamber of the gun before she closed it shut and looked at the man before her.

"Best be on your way then, there is a spare Bullhead in the hangar bay that you can use...not that I'll be using it anymore..." she looked down as a soft smile graced her face. Jaune said nothing as he turned and walked away from the woman. She only smiled as she brought the gun up to her head, lined the barrel directly under her chin and pulled the hammer back.

"Farwell...Sir Knight"

The hallway echoed with his footsteps as he walked down the hollow hallway. He was ready now to face his final challenge, his final enemy and at last, meet his end. A loud bang resonated in the hall as he looked back down the darkened hall, as the soft clatter of a gun hitting the floor told him all he needed to know...

The Queen's Pawn was Dead

He shook his head as he made his way to the hangar bay. Where the last fully functional Bullhead, waiting for the day it would once again soar in the sky and be as free as a bird. Placing himself in the pilot seat he flipped the controls on the console as the roof above him opened and the ship soon took off into the sky. Zooming off into the distance to the place where Jaune would have his final end...

* * *

The Kingdom of Vale - Beacon Academy

* * *

Vale...once the crowning achievement of what humanity could accomplish, a shining light of hope and security to all that had once lived within its walls. Here the people could live a normal life free of the fear of Grimm and hatred that existed outside its walls. And guarding the Kingdom was Beacon Academy, a shining light to fight the darkness at their doors.

But now the city was reduced to nothing but rubble and ruin, left behind by the Grimm.

It was on the grounds of Beacon did the Beast known as the Grimm King slumbered. This massive beast was one said to only exist in legend, its form massive and horrifying that its very presence brought fear and despair.

The beast was similar to that of a large Western-style Dragon, with scales as black as night and pale white bone upon its back and face. The creature's horns curved upward to resemble that of a crown, giving it the title of King.

Surrounding the beast was hundreds upon thousands of Grimm in every shape and size as they either slumbered or fought for the last piece of scrap to fill their bellies. The noise and the fighting never once bothered the massive beast, as he slumbered upon his throne of ruin and decay.

Suddenly a loud boom was heard as every beast turned its head to the sound, minus the King as he continued to slumber. It did not care about the sound as it knew that whoever dared entered its domain would have to face the full power of its army. But the sound grew louder as it peeked one eye open, to see what was causing so much noise.

And there he stood, a human clad in a brilliant display of white as he slashed and hacked away at his minions. Their bodies falling to the ground as he twirled a massive scythe in his hands, that produced a loud crack like thunder with every swing he made as he continued to move forward as another Grimm fell to his friend's massive blade.

He had long since abandoned the Bullhead when he landed on the outskirts of the city. He knew that attacking from the air would be pointless as the Nevermore's had made it impossible to get near the beast. So he began his journey in the place where it had first begun, the Emerald Forest of Vale, or what was left of it when the Grimm King burnt it down with one breath.

The forest was now burnt to ash; with the trees know resembling blackened bones sticking from the ground. But Jaune didn't care about the state of the once green forest; he didn't care about the thousands of Grimm that stood in his way or the hundreds dead that already filled his path behind him.

All he cared about was the King that stood at the end of this horrible game of chess...

Jaune slashed as three more Creepers fell to Crescent Rose as he spun around and shot two more before the gun clicked empty. He scoffed slightly as he spun the blade around, decapitating a massive Ursa before sheathing the gigantic blade. With a flick of his wrist, Ember Celica took shape as he loaded a belt of ammo into the chamber.

He thrust his fist left as a Beowulf was flung away in an explosion of heat before he dodged another and slammed his fist into its brain. He jumped back as Deathstalker thrust its massive stinger into the ground before him, he drew forth Myrtenaster and spun the blades dust chamber, igniting the blade in a plume of fire as he slashed and burned ten more Grimm in his path.

He drew Gambol Shroud as the Katana like blade sliced a creeper in half while using one-half of Stormflower in his spare hand tp unloaded a barge of bullets into a defenceless Boarbatusk. Sheathing those two he drew forth Magnhild as he swung the massive hammer and struck the ground before, creating a large shockwave that sent large bits and pieces of rubble in all directions.

Killing many Grimm around him.

He swung the hammer left and right as he crushed and broke any Grimm that stood in his path. He ran forward as he shifted the hammers form and shot round after round of the heart-shaped explosives at his enemies. He jumped over a Deathstalkers claw as he released more explosives laced with his aura.

The beast was decimated as guts and blood sprayed and gushed everywhere.

Placing the weapon back, he drew Milo as he fired at each Grimm that ran towards him, each round burying themselves deep into their skulls as he continued to fight the hoard. He stood in the middle of the battlefield as his eyes glowed a powerful light, a light that encumbered all of his eyes as small flames burned and flickered at the edge.

The Grimm King raised its head as it gazed curiously at the human before him.

Jaune continued to fight as he used each of the weapons that were once used by those he held close to him. In a way giving each of them the chance for revenge against the nightmarish hoard. But even Jaune knew that if he continued to fight the entire Grimm Army, he would not have the strength left to face the King and would die in an instant.

He needed a plan and fast if he wanted to have a chance at facing the King. Which meant that he had to use one of his trump cards...

Sheathing Milo to his back he crossed his arms in front of him as he began to gather his aura. His body shimmered white as small bits of gravel began to float around him. And just as the Grimm jumped him, his body exploded in a massive flash of light. The Grimm was either blown away or disintegrated in an instant as the light was so bright that anyone watching from a distance thought it was a shining star in the night sky.

Not as if there was anyone left on this godforsaken planet.

Back at the battle, Jaune stood in the middle of a large crater as he panted and breathed heavily at the destructive power of his technique. _"Aura Burst"_ a technique designed to release a large amount of Aura in a powerful explosion.

Luckily Jaune only used a small portion of his aura to clear away the Grimm that was around him but still had the massive hoard left to deal with. Jaune cursed slightly as he fell to one knee as the beast surrounded him. But just as he was about to draw his blade, a loud roar was heard as every Grimm stopped and turned to face the Grimm King.

Jaune cursed slightly as he fell to one knee as the beast surrounded him. But just as he was about to draw his blade, a loud roar was heard as every Grimm stopped and turned to face the Grimm King.

The King rose from its rest as it stretched its massive black wings and walked towards the young man. Every Grimm in its way moved as they lowered their heads in respect of the massive beast. Its massive form towing over the remains of the Academy it rested upon and easily dwarfed the young man before him.

The beast then roared as every Grimm around the area looked cautiously before turning and leaving the two alone.

Jaune looked around as each and every Grimm had turned around and left them. Stunned at the sheer power and authority that the Grimm King possessed if it could command the lesser Grimm to leave them.

He then looked up as burning red eyes stared back at him and could instantly tell what the creature wanted...it remembered him as one of the hunters that had killed his mate and knew that he was the last of them.

"...I see...you want to fight one-on-one right? Want to see what the last human on Earth has, right?" he said as he stood up from the crater he had created. The beast only seemed to growl as if to confirm what the man had said. Jaune chuckled slightly as he set his gaze on the massive beast.

"All right then, in the words of a certain Rose..." he drew forth Crocea as a small shockwave blasted from him as the massive beast spread its wings and released a powerful roar, as Jaune burst with aura with an image of a giant knight appearing behind him.

"Bring it on!" and with that, the final battle for the fate of the world had begun...

But at a terrible cost.

* * *

No one was around to see the final battle between man and the Grimm. No one was there to see the final climactic battle that took place in the old Kingdom of Vale. But if they were, they would have told of an epic battle that split mountains and sent gigantic tidal waves all across Vale.

Both fighting with all of their strength and all of their power.

Jaune fighting with seven years of hard and intense training to avenge his fallen friends that he had achieved powers never before achieved by the most experienced of hunters. Desperation could drive any man to heights, and just as easily let them fall. And the Grimm King fighting with over a thousand years of experience and age under its name, with the power to reduce a whole Kingdom to ashes in a blink of an eye.

The battle eventually came to a bloody end as the gigantic beast fell to Jaune's blade as the ancient blade of his ancestors pierced its heart and slew the King. But the King would not go alone as he severely wounded the young knight...and ensured his inevitable death.

Which is where we find Jaune Arc now as he lay in a pool of his own blood.

His right arm completely torn from his body along with what remained of his left leg as four deep gashes lined along his right side as blood emptied from his wound and lips. Every breath he took burned his lungs and every muscle screamed at him to stop and end the pain. Multiple cuts and bruises covered his form as his eyes and body grew heavier with each passing second. Jaune knew what was happening to him...

He was dying...and he was ok with that.

He had long grown tired of fighting each day to survive, living another day with the regret and guilt that he had carried with him for so long and had long since grown tired of the world he was born in and wanted nothing more than a perfect ending for him. He coughed violently as blood gushed from his lips as he cast his eyes up to the darkened sky, just as the first rays of sunlight began to peek from over the destroyed mountains.

His eyes wandered over to the giant beast as its lone red eye flicked and slowly faded, signalling the end of the Grimm King...and the end of all Grimm.

"Eheh...I won...-blragh!" he coughed as more blood filled his chest.

He continued to cough violently as he struggled to move his body to his side to ease the pain that was coursing through his chest. Just then a single red petal floated down to meet him as he watched the small petal land in his blood, sending small ripples across the surface of his blood as he stared at the blood-stained petal.

He looked around as he realised that his fight had taken him far beyond the Kingdom of Vale and was now lying in the Forever Falls Forest, it had taken him back to the place of his first victory and now his final victory. He stared for the longest time before he began to laugh at the cruel irony of it all. His first victory against a Grimm and he ended up dying in the same forest from so long ago.

The universe just loved to screw with him, didn't it?

He slowly rolled himself over as he hissed in pain as he dragged himself along the red grass of the forest.

A trail of dark red blood followed behind him as he dragged himself to a lone tree in the middle of the clearing. Each time he dragged himself another face passed in his mind and another memory would play in his last moments. So many faces and so many memories of the people he loved and cherished passing him by.

Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Nora, Ren, Coco, Velvet, Fox, Yatsuhashi, Sun, Neptune, Sage and Scarlet.

He struggled to stand but fell back down as more faces appeared before him.

Cardin, Russell, Sky, Dove, Port, Oobleck, Glynda, Ozpin with his family's standing before him as they smiled at him...

And finally, Pyrrha, the woman that he loved as they all beckoned him towards the bright light that shined on them. Pyrrha smiled lovingly at him as she held her hand to him, as he reached his hand out to grab her own, her hand and his mere inches apart. Before she faded into nothing as his hand brushed against the bark of the tree.

He stared for a brief moment as he hung his head and shook his head.

He finally managed to drag himself over to the tree and placed himself against the bark. He looked up at the red leaves that shimmered with the cool breeze that washed over him. He reached slowly and painfully into his breastplate as he pulled out the worn picture of Pyrrha.

Her warm and gentle smile greeted him one last time as he smiled with tears slowly streaking down his face. He held the picture to his chest as he relished in the warmth one last time before he knew what came next.

His end had finally come.

"I guess...this...is it?...I'll...I'll see...you all soon...I'm...almost...there...wait...for...me...Pyr...rha..." his voice trailed off as his eyes grew heavy and his body went limp.

The first rays of sunshine shone from over the mountaintop as each light landed on the Fallen Knight. His armour dented and scraped, his body broken and torn in every way possible as blood pooled around his form in what many would describe as a ghastly display of brutality and savagery.

But for Jaune, he simply laid there against the tree as a small smile rested upon his face, as he laid his final rest and breathed his final breath...

* * *

Year X337 - Ten Years after The Fall of Remnant...Jaune Arc...Died...

* * *

Voices resonated all around, as two men and a screaming woman could be heard amongst the darkness. The man was saying 'push' as the woman only screamed in pain as the other man held her hand.

"We're almost there Diana, I just need you to do one more push!" the man said as the woman gave one last powerful scream before falling back into the bed. And then a soft cry was heard as the man held up a small bundle.

"It's a boy!" the man said as he handed the small child to the arms of a blond-haired man, the man smiled as he held the child in his arms.

"Look, honey, it's a boy! We have a son!" he said as he had tears of happiness as the woman cried as well as he handed her the child.

"Oh, my baby boy..." she said as she held the child in her arms. She smiled down as she stroked the small amount of blond hair as the man held one of the child's small hands.

"Hey there little guy my name is Roland...I'm your dad...and this is Diana, she's your mum. We are so happy to finally meet you" he said as he and his wife smiled down at the baby, the woman known as Diana smiled brightly as she held him in her arms.

"So have you two thought of a name for him?' the doctor asked the parents as they looked at each other and nodded.

"We have, his name is Jaune...Jaune Arc..." His father said as they looked down at little Jaune.

"Welcome to the world little Jaune..." Diana said as she kissed his head and smiled at the child, welcoming the new life into the world. But unbeknownst to the parents the child at had only one thing on its mind...

 _'...What the fuck is going on here!'_

* * *

 **And scene, here is a new story idea that I have had for a while since I read a manga with a similar premise. Jaune Arc is reborn and sent back in time into his younger body.**

 **And what better place to start then at the moment of his birth, also before you go crazy relax I'm not forgetting my other stories, I just needed to write this one to inspire my other works and make me less distracted.**

 **So tell me what you think and leave a review in the in the area provided. Let me know if I should continue this story. And Chapter three of Ascension of a King will be released soon; I have just had to rewrite it a lot until it's perfect.**

 **Also, should I make a three-way crossover with three of my other stories between Unstoppable, Abandoned hero and Rising of an Arc? Let me know and thank you.**

 **So be patient and I hope you enjoy this story. Masseffect-TxS out!**


	2. Chapter II: Hope is Reborn

RWBY: Restart

When the world is destroyed and all that he has known is taken from. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future...just not the way he expected.

 **Authors Note: Due to the release of episode 6 of Volume 3, certain parts of Chapter One have been edited to accommodate for the story, such as the Maidens power and Cinder's ambition.** **I will still continue this story and my other stories as well; I just want to notify everyone to check back in the previous chapter to see some of the changes. Please enjoy chapter 2.**

* * *

Chapter II: Hope is Reborn

* * *

They say that when you die your entire life flashes before your eyes. Every moment you remember and don't pass right by and you wonder what you had done in the past. All the mistakes you have made, all the happiest moments that you've ever experienced and all sadness that came with it. It was supposed to be a moment of recollection and peace...

But Jaune was pretty it wasn't supposed to work like this, right?

For some bizarre and really, really weird reason, Jaune was remembering the time he was a baby. Completely weird and random he knew, but honestly, he had no idea what to make of it? This couldn't be real he had thought to himself, that there was no way that he was somehow back at the moment of his birth with twenty-seven years of memories stored in his head.

There was just no way that any of this was real...

' _I'll say it again...WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE!'_ baby Jaune thought to himself as he looked up at the looks of love and devotion from both his parents.

It had been only a few hours since he was 'born' or 'reborn' and already the young child was having a mini freak-out. One moment he was dying in the forever falls forest twenty-seven years in the future, the next he was back at the moment of his birth, and as you can imagine Jaune was taking it.

' _What the fuck! What the fuck! What the actual fuck is going on here!?'_

...In a way that only Jaune Arc would take it, having no idea what was going on.

' _Ok, ok calm down and analyze this situation very carefully and very logically...I am a baby...'_

' _...'_

' _...'_

' _Nope! I can't think of anything that can possibly explain this shit! How the hell am I a baby!? How the hell am I alive!? How is my family alive!? And why can't I control these stupid little arms!?'_ he waved his tiny arms around aimlessly, to which his parents just found adorable.

"Oh! look at that Diane, our son is so happy to see us!" Roland said as Diana held her son in her arms as she smiled down at her baby boy.

' _No, you imbecile! I'm trying to understand what the hell is going on here!'_

Jaune tired to say, but what actually came out was just gurgles and awes - the usual language that babies said before they learn how to use their vocal cords.

"Oh, that is so cute~! Honey go and fetch the camera!" Diana gushed over her newly born son, as his father left to fetch a camera. Jaune would have slapped his forehead if he could properly control his arms.

But seeing as he had no ability to control his arms whatsoever for the next five years or so, he simply screamed internally.

" _AHHHHHHH!"_

After he was done with his initial freak-out, Jaune was finally able to calm down as he tried to understand his current predicament - or at least attempt to understand what the hell was going on. Not that he could think of a logical reason behind this.

' _...Ok, let's think about this very carefully. H-how am 'I even alive right now? The last thing I remember was dragging my body across the forest floor before I died killing the Grimm King and then...that's it, nothing else happened? I can't even remember what happened after that?'_ Jaune had stopped his thinking as he tried to get a grasp on the situation.

' _What the heck is going on? H-how can any of this be real? Am I dead? Am I in heaven or hell? What is going on here?'_ he was positioned slightly as his parents smiled down at him; completely unaware of the dilemma their 'newborn' child was going through.

' _All I can remember is dying and then waking up in my mother's arms just as I've been born-!'_

He stopped as he turned his small head up to his mother as she smiled down at him. His father right beside her as he smiled brightly at his newborn son. Looks of love and devotion were evident as they gazed into the eyes of their newborn son.

The exact same looks he had received when he was a child.

It was at that moment that a sudden realisation hit him as he realised that he was in his mother's arms, his dead mother's arms. And the person beside her was his actual father, who died the same year the Grimm King rose to power. Remembering his vain attempt to save his family when everything began to fall into ruin, only to return home to find his village destroyed and his family killed by the Grimm.

He watched in horror as the monsters feasted on his family's remains and devoured everything that he once held dear to him.

All he could remember that day was nothing but a blinding fury as he had slaughtered every single Grimm in the village. bodies piling beneath his feet as he reduced the hoard to ash and smoke. It wasn't until Ren and Nora had to forcibly hold him down until he stopped his rampage. But even they struggled against his rage.

It was the first time he ever felt true anger for the Grimm and the first time he had ever felt true despair. The feeling of being alone in the world had it not been for Ruby's gentle embrace that saved him from insanity.

But it was not the last time he would ever feel this despair. But right now at this moment, he realised a very crucial fact.

His parents were alive...

Small tears built up in his eyes as his small heart ached at the sight of his parents. At that moment, he didn't care that he was an infant right now, or if this place was heaven or hell. He was just so happy to see his parents again alive and well. His parents looked concerned as their newborn son cried small tears from his eyes.

"Honey? What's wrong with Jaune is he alright?" Roland asked as he was concerned that his son was crying. Diana had no clue either but did her best to comfort her son.

"Shhh its ok little one, mummy's here, there's no reason to cry now," She whispered softly to him as Jaune continued to cry into his mother's chest. Many emotions entered his heart as his mother's embrace comforted him, but for the first time in so many years...

He was at peace

* * *

The Gilded Arc Tavern - Home of the Arc Family

* * *

"Well son, welcome to your new home!" Roland exclaimed as he and his wife walked in with their newborn son. While Jaune only took in the sight of the home he was already accustomed to.

It had been roughly a few hours since the family had left the hospital and returned home, a small tavern located in the swamps west of Mistral that was frequented by many hunters and huntresses alike to rest their weary bodies. His father worked as the bartender while his mother would work as the waitress.

Now, most husbands would be worried about their wives working as a barmaid in a rather short skirt in a tavern full of weary and roughhousing hoodlums...but clearly you've never met Diana Arc. Anyone tried to touch her in an inappropriate way, would find his or her ass thrown straight out of the bar.

Literally thrown out of the bar and not by his father I might add...Also through a wall...or several?

You see both his parents were retired hunters, who retired after a lengthy career and from graduating their respective academies. Roland graduating from Beacon Academy in Vale, while Diana graduated from Haven Academy in Mistral some twenty odd years ago.

The two had met during the Vytal Festival when they were pitted against each other in a one-on-one match. The two fought with all of their heart and feelings until it ended in a double knockout. After which the two met each other on more than one occasion and developed a powerful love for each other. And after a lengthy career, the two had decided to retire and raise a family together.

But that is a story for another time as we return our focus to Jaune as he looked around the home that gave him old nostalgic feelings of both happiness and sorrow.

He remembered during the war that his home had become a temporary base for the resistance after they finished burying his family out in the backyard. It was one of the most traumatic experiences he had ever felt during that dark time. Being back in the same home again with his family had a surreal feeling to it as if his mind was trying to grasp the reality of it.

He was home...and his family was alive.

"Kids! Come down and meet your new baby brother!" Roland called out as seven sets of footsteps could be heard bolting down the stairs. A strong pang hit his heart as he saw the seven faces of his sister.

"Kids this is your new baby brother, Jaune and he is very excited to meet you all." All of the children gathered around their mother as she sat in one of the taverns chairs. Each child crowded around, as they wanted to see the new child that was born into the family.

A Quick note that Jaune might mention, is that every member of his family was born with a different hair colour. It was a strange genetic anomaly that existed within the Arc family dating all the way back to before the Great War. So, despite the fact each of his sisters had different colours of hair, they were still members of the Arc family.

The first face that Jaune saw was Bleu Arc, who was his oldest sister and was currently sixteen years old and had blue hair and eyes. She was the oldest and thus the most mature member of the Arc Siblings.

"Oh! Look how cute he is!" Bleu squealed as she played with one of Jaune's little hands.

...Well except when it came to babies and anything remotely cute, then she turns into a squealing 'cute-a-holic' as described by her sisters and Jaune.

"I know right!" his second sister Marron Arc said as she smiled down at baby Jaune. Marron Arc was a girl with light brown hair similar to her mothers but had her father's blue eyes and was fourteen years old. She has what Jaune considered a bookworm, as she spent most of her time reading from the family library.

"Let us see! Let us see!" two voices said simultaneously as seven-year-olds Verte and Violet Arc jumped up and down around their mother. They were the twins of the family and were both similar and very different at the same time. With Verte having Green hair and blue eyes, while Violet had Purple hair and green eyes.

"OH! He is so cute~! Noir! Noir! Look!" the twins said as Noir Arc at the age of twelve years old looked at her 'cute' baby brother. She was the only one of her family that was born with Black Hair and blue eyes.

"Yes, yes I see him and him his very cute you two," she said as she smiled at her sisters. Noir Arc was the most serious of the Arc family, as she believed in honour and self-discipline, as she also inherited most of her mother features but her father's eyes.

She was also the only one to make sure that the twins didn't blow up anything during playtime.

Which tended to happen...a lot.

"...He's kind of small isn't he?" Rouge Arc said as she touched Jaune's chubby little cheek.

Rouge Arc his sister at the age of six said and was born with the reddest shade of hair that anyone had ever seen. Wich seemed to match her personality of going head first and asking questions later as she continued to poke at Jaune's cheek, something that Jaune didn't like at that point.

"Well, of course, he is small Rouge, that's what babies are at this stage. Even you were this small once," Her mother said warmly as Rouge shook her head.

"No way! I was way bigger than him!" she said as she pointed at Jaune as he chuckled internally at the sight of his older sister. A small bundle of light blond hair poked out from behind Roland's leg as she gazed cautiously at the baby.

"Clair, come and say hello to your baby brother," Diane said as everyone turned to the small girl.

Clair Arc had a very light shade of her father's blond hair but had inherited her mothers emerald coloured eyes. She was only five years older than Jaune, but he could already see the shy nature that he had grown up with as she hid behind her father's leg.

"Come on sweetie, this is your new baby brother, don't worry he's not going to bite," the man picked her up and placed her on his lap as the small girl looked at the small bundle that was Jaune.

"H-Hello," she hid slightly under her father's arm as he chuckled slightly, as he ushered her forward to get a look at her new baby brother. She grew, even more, timid as she saw him gazing at her with a curious gaze.

"Eek!" she quickly hid under her father's arm as the peeked back at the boy to seem him grow a sad look on his face. Jaune, however, was looking more curious because of how surreal this all was.

 _'It still feels so strange...being here...with them, with everything appearing like nothing has happened...'_

Memories of their deaths passed through his mind as small tears began to build in his eyes as looked at his family, happy and alive.

"AH! OH NO! I MADE HIM CRY!" Clair shouted as she hid behind Roland as his mother panicked slightly as she attempted to stop her son from crying. Jaune instantly stopped crying as he realised that he was causing a scene.

' _Crap that's not good! Quick! Got to do something cute!'_ Jaune thought as he managed to reign in his tears as he started waving his arms around and gurgle out some strange nonsense, all while trying to motion for Clair to come closer. Diana sighed a breath of relief as she ushered Clair over.

"Look, dear, he is fine, he was just startled that's all. See, he actually wants you to come closer," she said as Jaune tried to motion for her to come closer. Clair slowly moved to her new baby brother as she reached out a hand to grasp his own. Jaune made a cute giggling sound as she smiled at this and turned to her parents.

"Look he is smiling!" she said excitingly as her parents smiled at their children reacting to their new baby brother.

It was a warm and touching scene that anyone watching it would find a sense of warmth and happiness from the family. Jaune sighed a breath of relief as he looked back at his family that was gushing over his younger form, taking the moment to truly enjoy the sight of his family happy and alive.

However, there was one thought that clawed at the farthest corner of his mind, the same dark truth continued to creep into his subconscious...

They are all going to die

Seventeen years from now, all of them were going to die when Cinder and Salem would begin their plans, and awaken the Grimm King from his slumber. And then the world would be consumed by darkness, as everything, he would ever know and love become swallowed up by the jaws of the Grimm.

Unless he could change the future?

' _If this really is the 'past' and things play out like they did in the 'future', then this could be my chance to change everything! I could stop her! I will stop her! And I promise that no one will suffer that horrible future, even if my life depended on it!'_ Jaune thought to himself as he steeled himself for what is to come. And prevent the future that would destroy them all...

' _I will stop you Cinder...count on it'_ Jaune thought to himself as he knew what he needed to do. Suddenly, Jaune felt something strange rumbling in his stomach as an all too familiar feeling was coming to him.

' _...No, Oh no! No! No! NO! THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING! THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING! PLEASE, ANYTHING BU-!'_ Rouge sniffed the air as she and her others sisters instantly pinched their noses and backed from the baby.

"EW! JAUNE DID A NASTY!" Rouge said as they all backed away from the baby while Diana only chuckled at their behaviour.

Roland had to pinch his nose as well when he caught a whiff of the foul smell. "Whew! That is a ripper! I think Jaune might need a change huh Diana?" he said as the mother only rolled her eyes at her husband, as she got ready to change Jaune.

For Jaune on the other hand, It was one of the most embarrassing experience he had ever faced in his life. One that he would take to his grave...

' _Yang must never hear about this...ever!'_

* * *

Later that night as Jaune lay awake in his crib as he looked up at the mobile, as the small images of knights and dragons spun around to entertain the child. But this did not distract Jaune as he merely stared up at the ceiling, the day's events still playing in his mind and the memory of his final moments.

He could still feel the moment the Grimm King tore his arm from his body, sliced into his chest and plunged its teeth into his leg. A similar sensation of Phantom Limb Syndrome he could guess, except that his limbs were intact. But now here he lay as a small baby, with his head full of the last ten years of War burned into his brain and essentially trapped in an infants body.

How the hell was he supposed to process this?

He still had no idea how he was alive or how it was that he travelled back to the moment of his birth and was given a second chance. All that mattered to him was getting stronger and finding a way to prevent the events that were to come...

' _The only question is how? How am I supposed to stop anything when I'm just a baby?_ ' he stopped his train of thought as he looked up at the mobile that slowly turned above his crib.

' _Still...it is good to see them all alive again, does this mean that all my other friends are alive as well? Or is it because I travelled back in time, I've alerted the space-time continuum so that they were never born, or does that mean I'm-Argh! This is so confusing!_ ' baby Jaune thought to himself as he lay in his crib.

' _You know what this is just too confusing, I better get some sleep before anyone grows suspicious...but when was the last time I got some sleep?_ ' his eyes grew heavy as his body began to relax into the soft mattress of his crib, his mind wandering back to a time he long wished to forget...

* * *

Three Months Later

* * *

It was another busy day at the Gilded Arc, as the small tavern was bustling with small business. Some of them were travelling merchants from the main cities while others were guardsmen relaxing from patrolling around the village, making sure that no Grimm would come in and attack the villagers. Just another peaceful day in the village as they went about their daily lives.

Jaune, however, was seated in his mother's lap as some of her friends chatted about her newborn son. "So, how's the new baby boy Diana? Giving you much trouble?" a woman asked as she looked at Jaune.

"Yeah, it mustn't be easy raising as many kids as you have, I mean seven is a lot but eight? That's just insane!" another woman asked as she rested her arms on the countertop. Diana only chuckled as he bounced Jaune on her knee.

"Yes I will admit raising eight kids is a bit of a challenge...but Jaune seems to be different from his sisters?" the women raised an eyebrow as they leant in closer.

"He never calls out at night like his sisters did, so we get a good amount of sleep in, and he only ever calls out when he needs a change or feeding. Other than that he's just a very well behaved baby boy," she said as she cuddled her son to her chest.

"Although at first he kind of shied away when I tried to breastfeed him for the first time. But I was able to coax him into feeding after some effort, but he still has this blush on his face whenever I do it, that's the only strange thing about him" Jaune instantly blushed at this as he was pressed against her bosom.

' _Please don't remind me of the breastfeeding, it's really awkward when you have the mind and memory of a twenty-seven-year-old and you have to be forced to be...'feed'...from your own mother'_ Jaune thought to himself before his father walked over to them.

"Hey! How are my two favourite people?" Roland asked cheerfully as he kissed his wife on the lips and rustled the small amount of blond hair on his son's head.

' _I'd be fine if you'd stop rustling my hair like that dad!'_ Jaune said to himself, even though he knew no one could understand him.

"We're good honey, I was just telling the girls how Jaune has been a little odd since birth," Roland raised an eyebrow before he just scoffed and smiled.

"I wouldn't be too worried about him, Jaune is an Arc after all and an Arc is always full of surprises," he said with a laugh as he played with one of his son's little hands.

' _You have no idea dad'_ Jaune thought to himself as he chuckled internally at the irony of what his father had just said. Roland stopped as he heard the tavern door open and he becomes serious.

' _Dad?'_ Jaune though as he turned his head over to the door, to see what had caused his normally cheerful father to become so serious. And what he saw made his eyes widen in disbelief as his mind tried to process what he saw.

' _No way...'_ Standing in the door was the last person Jaune ever expected to see...ever.

The man was tall with silver hair and wore shaded glass spectacles with a dark-green scarf that had a small purple cross-shaped emblem on it. His outfit mostly consisted of an unzipped black suit over a buttoned vest and green undershirt. He also wore black trouser shoes and long, dark-green pants as he held a silver ornate cane with small clockwork mechanism hidden in the centre.

This man was none other than the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, a mentor to Jaune during his Beacon days and an ally in his fight against the Darkness.

Ozpin...The Emerald Wizard of Beacon.

The man smiled politely as he walked across the tavern until he came face to face with his father, "Hello Roland it's good to see you again," the man spoke as he shook his father hand. The man nodded as he shook the man's hand.

"Ozpin, it's good to see you too old friend. I haven't seen you since I graduated from Beacon, how have you been?" he asked as the man chuckled slightly and leant against the counter.

"Doing well, all things considered. We just hired on some new teaching staff and are currently having the combat arena retrofitted. Glynda has even joined up as a teacher now if you can believe it?" He said as Roland raised an eyebrow.

"Really? huh, never really saw her as the teaching kind...then again she always did have that glare of hers," Roland pondered as both he and Jaune remembered the infamous 'Goodwitch Glare' that frightened many of the students back at Beacon Academy.

Diana elbowed his ribs as she glared at her husband. "Roland..." she said sternly as the man apologised.

Ozpin only chuckled as he nodded. "Yes, but she is a very welcomed addition to the staff, and I have no doubt she will do a fine job as Vice-Headmaster." he then turned to smile at Diana as bowed slightly. "It's good to see you again Diana, motherhood has truly been kind to you," he said as the woman nodded.

"Thank you, and it's good to see you too Ozpin. I rather enjoy it myself, a lot better then the days of old," she said as she adjusted her son in her arms. The man looked down at the small child in her arms.

"And who is this little one?" the man asked as he looked directly into the babies eyes. His eyes then narrowed as he saw a faint glint in the child's eyes, a glint the man was almost familiar with.

"This is Jaune, he is our newest addition to the family, isn't he just the cutest?" Diana said happily as she hugged her baby boy to her chest, even as the man continued to look into the baby's blue eyes.

"Yes...adorable," the man pondered what he had seen as he gazed into the child's eyes.

"Not to be rude or anything...but what are you doing here?" Roland asked as the man shook the thought away as he looked back up and merely shrugged at the man.

"Can't old friends ever meet without there being a reason?" the man said as Roland shook his head.

"With you, there is always a reason..." Ozpin sighed as he gestured to the back of the Tavern.

"Can we speak in private?" Roland glanced at his wife as she nodded and was about to get up when one of the other waitresses walked over to her.

"Diana we're having some trouble with...'him' again," she said with a strained voice as they looked over to a balding man as he laid face first on the table, with a lot of mugs decorating his head. "Can you please help?" she asked as the woman only sighed as she nodded.

"Roland, can you look after Jaune for me? I just need to take care of...'him'...again. Be back soon," she said with a sweet but darkly voice as she marched over to the table. Roland only nodded as his wife cracked her knuckles along the way. Roland turned to Ozpin as the man stared curiously at the scene.

"I hope you don't mind that Jaune will be with us?" he asked as the baby merely looked up at the adults curiously.

Ozpin stared for a moment before he shook his head. "No I don't mind, it not like he'll remember this anyway?" he said as Jaune chuckled internally at this.

' _That's right, pay no attention to the baby with the mind of a twenty-seven-year-old'_

The two men walked to the back of the tavern, right in Roland's main study as he looked around to make sure no one was following before he pushed a small button in the shape of the Arc family crest. Causing a small section of the wall to open up revealing a long staircase leading down to a secret basement. Jaune already knew of this when he had discovered it in the 'alternate timeline'.

What he had not known, was that Ozpin had met his father sometime after his birth. Maybe that was why he never kicked him out of school, even when he knew of his false transcripts? He couldn't be sure.

The two men continued to walk down the staircase until they reached a large room, filled to the brim with all sorts of books and scrolls, with a small fireplace and two ornate chairs. Roland sat down as he held Jaune in his arms while Ozpin used a small dust crystal to light the fireplace as the soft glow illuminated the room as Ozpin faced away from the man and child.

"Now...what is it you wanted to speak about?" Roland asked as Ozpin sighed and turned his head to look at his friend.

"Before I tell you this, let me ask you something...what is your favourite fairytale?" the man asked seriously as Roland only groaned at this while massaging his forehead. "What is it?" he asked as the man shook his head.

"Nothing, its just I get the feeling that whatever you're about to tell me is something that I know is going to be bad. Call it a premonition from years of experience," Ozpin raised an eyebrow at this as he looked at the man.

"It's just like back at Beacon when Tai and Qrow managed to convince me to go on that panty raid with them and I ended up the one being beaten up by Glynda, Raven, Diana and Summer! At the same time! While they ran away!" he exclaimed as Ozpin chuckled slightly at this while Jaune stared up at his father.

 _'...Why am I not surprised?'_

Ozpin chuckled at this as he sat down. "Yes, but if I recall they did apologize afterwards... _after_ they got you down from the tower," Roland glared for a little before he chuckled as well. Ozpin then looked seriously as he fiddled with the cane in his hands.

"But back to the matter at hand...do you know the Story of the Four Seasons?" Jaune perked up at this as his father raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah I'm familiar with the story, I tell it to my girls every night before they go to bed. An Old man is visited by four women, each representing a different season and manages to urge the old man out of his hut. He then bestows upon them great power for their kindness and they go spread it amongst the people, but what does this have to do with..." he stopped as he received a single look from the man, that told him everything.

"...Oh no," he grasped his head in his hand while his son looked up at him with innocent eyes. "They're real, aren't they?"

Ozpin nodded as he looked at the face of his friend. "Yes, due to my new position I was... _granted_ the knowledge of their existence. They are very real, Roland, and they possess amazing powers that are not just like magic, but exactly like real magic." Roland sighed as he leaned back in his chair and held his son.

"Who else knows?"

"Only myself, Qrow, Raven and Glynda. There are others but I fear it may not be enough," Ozpin said as the Roland looked at the silver-haired man.

"Why are you telling me this Oz? Why have you come all the way out here to tell me something that seems like a big secret, one that I'm not supposed to know?" Roland levelled his gaze as he looked at the man. "What is it you're not telling me?"

Ozpin sighed as he stood up and rested his arm against the fireplace as he looked at the large portrait above the fireplace and looked back at his friend. "I believe there is someone who's planning to steal a maidens power" Roland widened his eyes slightly at this.

"What?"

"...We have reasons to believe that... ' _someone_ ' is planning to steal the power of a Maiden and use it for nefarious means. We believe that its a remnant of those who lost in the Great War, being financed by a larger organization," Roland shook his head at this as he stood up with his son.

"That's impossible and you know it, all the last members of that faction died at Wind Gate. My grandfather led the charge himself on the Warrior Kings orders-" Ozpin hung his head at this. "-And he made _sure_ that there were **no** enemies **left**."

Jaune, however, looked down at this, as he knew that wasn't true. ' _Not all of them...'_ he remembered Cinder as she told her story.

Ozpin shook his head at this as he walked around the room. "Qrow is still learning more about the enemy and I haven't heard from Raven in a while, but I don't like to take chances...which is why I've actually come here today." he turned to the man as he pointed to the large crest on the floor.

"A long time ago people would look at this crest and would be filled with hope that an Arc was protecting them. Even back at the Academy people would look up to you and feel safe that you were watching out for them..." Roland looked down at his son as his eyes drifted off into memory.

"You and Diana were once the strongest hunters in the world, so strong that the council and myself considered making you a Headmaster at one point...until you turned it down and retired," Jaune's eyes widened slightly at this as he looked up to his father, seeing him in a completely different light.

"That was a lifetime ago Ozpin, I'm no longer that warrior anymore and neither is my wife. We've settled down and raised a family, I can't expose them to stuff like that anymore, especially after what happened twenty years ago...I'm sorry. Besides, I always felt you were more suited for the role then I was. It was what you wanted to be after all," Ozpin sighed as he looked at his friend.

"I know you've put down your blade for your family and I know that you'd never want to put them in harm's way. But Roland, there is something coming this way and I fear that the Kingdoms won't be able to survive this time. I need as many allies as I can get..." he placed his hands on his cane and looked into the man's eyes.

"I need my friend's help. Will you help me?" Ozpin asked as the man only looked down as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry...but my answer is no," Ozpin stood still as Roland looked back up. "I need to think of my family and what is best for them, and I can't risk exposing them to that kind of life. I hope you can understand?" Ozpin stood up as he began to walk out the room.

"I understand, and I'm sorry that I tried to force you back into a life you've worked so hard to get out of..." he placed a hand on his shoulder as he prepared to leave.

"If you ever do change your mind let me know...until then I wish you good health for you and your family," Ozpin walked away as Roland sighed and looked down at his baby boy. The boy looked up to his father as the man only smiled and hugged the child to his chest.

"Don't worry Jaune, I'm never going to let you experience the things I've been through. I will always be here to protect you, always..." the man said as he began to walk up the winding stair. Jaune, on the other hand, was looking at his father as he felt a feeling of guilt in his chest.

 _'If only you knew what was coming dad that you don't have the strength to protect us all..._ ' he looked at his father's face as he saw the man's smiling face. ' _I can understand where you're coming from, but after what I've seen, I only wish you were there to help me...'_

His heart ached at the mere thought of Pyrrha and her smiling face. Which led back to Pyrrha's final moments as he still to this day, blamed himself for not stopping her and letting her face her doom. He managed to shake the thoughts from his head as he looked up at his father with pure determination in his eyes.

' _Which is why I hope you can forgive me for what I need to do in the future and hope you understand why I need to do it. Because this time I'm not going to fail...'_ the light at the end of the stairway shines as they walking back into the tavern.

 _'I'm going to protect you all'_ Jaune thought to himself as his eyes burned with a fire to protect all that he held precious.

"GET OUT OF MY TAVERN! YOU DRUNKEN OAF!"

They turned not even a second later, as the drunk man was picked up by his mother and literally thrown out of the tavern - through a wall - and out into the streets, as the brunette mother yelled out to the hole. "AND STAY OUT!" she yelled Jaune and Roland spare a quick glance at each other as they gulped slightly.

"Your mother can be quite scary when she wants to be, huh son?" he said as baby Jaune could only giggle at that.

' _You have no idea'_

Meanwhile away from the tavern, Ozpin continued to walk to his personal shuttle before he stopped and looked back at the tavern of his oldest friend. He had accepted his friend's decision, and would not pester him again. But something else was gnawing at him, as he looked back at the tavern, something that he just couldn't put his finger on.

And that thought lay in the small child that had a fire in his eyes that made him curious about the boy.

Extremely curious

' _Interesting...'_ he thought as he walked into his shuttle. The shuttle door closing as he looked back at the tavern one last time. ' _Very interesting indeed'_

And with that, the shuttle took off as the gears of destiny began to turn again, this time in a new direction. One where the fate of the whole world rested on the shoulders of a man who had lost everything...

But gained a second chance.

* * *

 **And scene well here is chapter two, this one was more of I'm on a roll with this and I need to get it on paper before I forget. So don't worry, Chapter Three of Ascension of a King is coming soon.**

 **Ps. there is going to be only one more Pre-Beacon Chapter before I start with the Beacon saga.**

 **And I will be taking a time to update some of my other stories as well. So please leave a review in the comment section below and tell me what you though. Until next time stay tuned for Chapter Three.**


	3. Chapter III: Eight Years Later

RWBY: Restart

When the world was destroyed, and all that he has known was taken from him. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future...just not the way he expected.

 **I've changed some details in Chapters I & II to incorporate Salem and the events of Season 3, but the rest from here on out it will be Alternate Universe. Or even an Alternate, Alternate Universe from whatever cannon events that will happen in Volume Four. So sit back and enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter III: Eight Years Later

* * *

In the large woods of the Anima forest, a small hooded figure dashed through the treetops at blinding speeds. Crudely made mannequins of straw and wooden targets were scattered around the forest. Each one stood silently amongst the trees until they were quickly cut down by a small blade.

The small figure dashed between his targets, as one by one the mannequin men fell before landing in the middle of a clearing as small leaves fell silently to the forest floor. The figure looked around quickly as he eyed the three other targets and grasped at the dagger on his back waist and drew the blade again.

He charged at the closest dummy as he stabbed the blade straight into its chest. He landed on top of the fallen enemy as he twisted the blade for good measure - as if he was twisting the blade into the heart of a real enemy. He then performed a small backflip into the air and threw two more daggers in perfect sync at the last two targets in the forest. The knives hitting dead centre of the targets, as the figure landed on the ground gracefully while cold blue eyes looked around to inspect the carnage that he had unleashed.

Around him were three sliced in half dummies and all of the targets had knives embedded in them. While behind him were several other straw men as each of them had missing 'limbs' or a knife impaled in their bodies.

The boy pulled back his hood as he revealed his face to be that of a young Jaune Arc - who was now at the age of eight years old - as he looked around the small clearing that was his personal training grounds for the past three months.

Interestingly, despite the fact that he lived near the swamps in Mistral, there was actually a small forest located just outside the town.

It was a small safe haven he found years ago in the future where he used to go to hide from bullies in the village. Now, in this timeline at least, he used the field to retrain his body and regain his lost strength. With the added bonus of being away from the prying eyes of both the villagers and his family.

The reason he hid his training from his family was that he knew his parents would reject the idea of him wanting to become a Huntsman, as they didn't want any of their children following in their own footsteps - something Jaune was well aware of back in his old timeline.

However, now Jaune also knew that the real reason his parents never wanted him to go to Beacon was that they did not want him to experience the same pain and suffering that they went through when they were a huntsman, it made him understand why they said that to him so long ago.

Yet despite their efforts, he would still be exposed to that pain nonetheless - and even far worse as the years would drag on.

He knew what was coming, the devastation, the deception and the destruction that would plunge everything he ever held dear to him into a pit of chaos and despair. He knew all of the sufferings that would come after it and he couldn't just stand by and let it happen again.

He was determined to change the future and was willing to sacrifice anything, even his own soul, to prevent it from happening.

In any case, while he trained his body to be stronger, his mind was always busy formulating a plan to stop the future that was to come. Over the years he had thought of many ways to prevent Cinder from obtaining the rest of the Fall Maiden's power and avoid the rise of the Grimm King. Some range from simply tracking her down and killing her, to more subtle approaches to take down her influence and expose her for the murderer she was.

And most importantly to try and prevent the deaths of all his friends and the love that took him so long to realise.

However, for it all to be successful he would have to prevent her from manipulating his friends, the Four Kingdoms and the Academies that were sworn to defend the world. He also had to prevent her from taking down the whole communication network - that she was able to accomplish by hacking into the CCT System and Ironwoods personal robotic army.

Which was why he wanted to create an anti-virus software that would either destroy or prevent her virus from infecting other systems. It was difficult and hard to understand - seeing as programming was a whole other language. But he was determined not to let her win, and he would stop at nothing to prevent everything horrible that would happen and give humanity a chance to fight back.

He was however still left with a problem that he had to deal with, how was he going to retrieve the power that she already had already taken, or will steal in the future?

He had learned that when a Maiden dies the power is transferred into a new host, preferably a young woman, sometimes to the person the Maiden was thinking of last. Men, however, were not subjected to this, so the power would seek out a new host at random.

However, according to what he knew in the future, Cinder had used something extremely dark to steal the Fall Maidens power, something that was closely akin to the Grimm itself.

So this meant that the only reason the power went to Cinder was that she had already stolen a portion of the power from whatever it was that Salem had given her. And he knew that she was just using her to spread negative energy across the world and use her to resurrect the Fallen Grimm King and then dispose of them when the time was right.

Cinder had allied herself with forces that were beyond her understanding and the world suffered for it.

There were times where he wondered if he should just simply track her down and kill her - in order to prevent all of the chaos that she would unleash. But right now he knew he couldn't do anything to prevent Cinder from taking the first half of the power.

Partially because he had no idea of her activities prior to the Beacon Attack and because he was too weak to fight her until was at least seventeen to eighteen years old. Heck, he only had vague ideas from what he gathered from his friends in the future.

The only time Jaune had ever seen her was after Pyrrha's match and from his brief encounter in the Vault, and that was too little to go on when he hunted her down on the future.

But in this time, he knew the names and faces of all her associates and their part in Salem's plan and wanted to use that to his advantage. The only reason he had not gone to the authorities with this information was that he knew how it would turn out.

If he tried to warn someone now they would think he was either crazy, a spy or somehow involved in the incident. Which would only hamper his abilities to prevent the end of everything and that was something he could not afford.

On top of the fact that he had no idea **_when_** she would steal the Fall Maidens power or **_where_** the other Maidens were to warn them.

So, there was nothing he could do to prevent her from taking her powers or prevent her from manipulating the White Fang. Which meant that the only time he could interrupt her plans was during the Beacon Phase, when everyone's guard was at its weakest and when she had used it to her advantage.

But now time would be his advantage and she would never see it coming...

However, deep down he knew that no matter what he did, the Grimm King would still awaken from his seal. That was in thanks to the conflict that was already happening and Salem's ultimate goal for her. Cinder only hastened its inevitable return by releasing its servants, the Dragon and damning the world to a bleak existence.

If that were to happen again then he would have to fight the Grimm King once more - defeat him like he did in the alternate timeline - and more than likely die in the process. They had a chance with Ruby and her silver eyes, but they ran out of time to hone her skill and the world was left in ruins.

If he even wanted a chance to beat the Grimm King and _**live**_ , he would need to get his original strength back to the level he had then - when he was twenty-seven years old. Something he would admit would not be an easy task to accomplish, seeing as originally he did not have his aura awakened until he was seventeen years old and had not unlocked the true potential of his semblance until sometime in the distant future.

So to recap his situation; he had to find a way to unlock his aura, retrain his body back to peak physical condition and craft a super weapon to defeat the Grimm King. While also helping Ruby unlock her powers at an earlier age, stop the invasion at Beacon and kill the Grimm King if he wanted to live long enough to see a possible future untainted by her greed.

Geez, tall order much?

Jaune looked down at his hand as he gripped it into a tight fist, steeling his resolve to stop Cinder and topple her would-be rule of the world.

"But first I need my Aura back, otherwise she'd just kill me in an instant," he thought to himself as walked away from the clearing and made his way back home.

Still thinking of someway to awaken his aura without letting his family know. He quietly snuck into the back of the kitchen as he slowly closed the door behind him as he tried to not make any sudden noise.

"Jaune?" a voice said as Jaune shrieked in fright before he spun around and instantly leant against the wall, acting as if he hadn't just snuck his way back into the tavern so early in the morning.

"Hey, mum! Hey, how are you?" Jaune asked with a crooked smile on his face as he tried to act nonchalantly. Which was not easy for Jaune, especially when it came to lying to his family.

"Um...I'm all right...are you ok? You seem to be out of breath" Jaune chuckled as he faced his mother.

"Well I just got up and I ran down the stairs so I'm a little out of breath," he tried to play off his short of breath. Diana only raised an eyebrow as she slowly nodded.

"Um...Okay? Well get ready and I'll walk you to school shortly," she said as she left Jaune alone, as the boy sighed a breath of relief.

"That was a close one," Jaune said as he made his way up to his room to get ready for school.

His room was like what an average kids room would be but had more books in one corner and a secret compartment that Jaune hid his training gear. He hid his training gear because he knew that his parents wouldn't want him to embrace the life of a hunter, as they believed that there was no need to, thanks to the era of 'peace' that had lowered everyone's guard. Something that Cinder and her master took full advantage of and brought the whole world to its knees...

And then to its ruin.

Just thinking of the woman brought an intense rage into his chest as he was reminded that she was alive as well, and that made him furious.

The last time he saw her, she was getting well acquainted with a bullet in the head and paying for her crimes in the lowest pits of hell. Now, she was alive again, planning and scheming to take the maidens power and cripple anyone who stood in her way. She was gathering her pawns and reading herself for her master's plan that would get herself, and everyone around her killed.

He was not going to let that happen again, he was going to stop her, he was going to kill her and end this secret war that they raged.

"But I can't do that, until I get stronger, especially with my Aura still sealed away," Jaune said as he pulled on an orange T-shirt. He then placed on a pair of blue pants and black sneakers as he ran down to met his mother at the door.

"I am ready to go, mum," Diana and turned to face her husband behind the counter.

"Honey! I'm taking Jaune to school now! Make sure the others are ready soon!" Diana yelled at her husband as he nodded from behind the bar.

"OK! Come, girls, you heard your mother! Let's go!" the man yelled back as he went upstairs to organise his daughters, who needed to go to the high school in town while Diane would take Jaune to elementary school.

Diane smiled as she grabbed Jaune by his hand and led him out the door. The pair walking down the road, as Jaune took the time to look around the town he grew up in and the painful memory that scarred his mind. The last time he saw this place, it was all on fire, and everyone he had ever known was dead.

The town had been torn to pieces, the marketplace was overrun and the town hall had all but burnt to the ground. The terrified faces of the villagers still plagued his mind as he walked the streets with his mother. But he could not let his mind fall into depression and instead focused his attention and drove onto one singular goal.

Stopping Cinder Fall and killing her with his hands, as he should have done in the alternate future, so then no one would ever have to suffer her greed again.

That one goal was all that kept him from going insane - the only thing that mattered to him. He would protect his friends, he would keep them safe and he would stop her madness before she took everything from him.

It was a promise that he could only keep to himself. The only dark secret that he would take to his grave...

"Well, here we are," Jaune stopped his train of thought and looked up to see the massive gate of the town pre-school. The head teacher was smiling as she welcomed the entire student into the school.

"I'll pick you up after school, ok sweetie?" she said as she softly kissed him on the top of his head and left back home for the tavern.

Jaune lightly touched the spot on his head as he watched his mother walk away, a strange nostalgic feeling washing over him as the thought of the future that haunted him. But was reminded that he had a second chance to save her life, a second chance to prevent her death and the deaths' of all his family. He just needed to find the strength that he once had and prepare for the future that was to come.

However, right now he had to deal with something he never thought he would never have to do again...middle school

* * *

Spectrum Middle School

* * *

' _I guess this was inevitable, I mean I am a kid again and I need to go to school. But seriously, I hate middle school!'_ he hefted his backpack and walked into the school.

He strolled over to find his locker as he placed his books in his bag before he looked around at the sea of happy faces that were so full of blissful ignorance that it made him sick to his stomach.

He felt out of place amongst these children before him - apart from the fact that he was actually a grown man in a child's body. The worst part was that all these people around him were long dead in the years to come, with no idea of what was going to happen. They had no idea of the monsters that would pound at their doors, walk over their corpses and take away everything from them. They were ignorant and oblivious to their demise...

It actually made him envious of their state.

He wished that he could _**forget**_ what he knew and the things he had done in the time forgotten, only for fate to remind him that this **_'new life'_** was an opportunity to change it. But the same time a dark thought still crept at the back of his mind, plaguing his dreams and haunting his nightmare. The same doubt and fear that he had not felt since he first enrolled at Beacon but with a different thought.

Could he actually change the destiny of Remnant or was he doomed to repeat the same mistakes?

Suddenly something bumped against his arm as the front of his shirt was grabbed and he was brought face-to-face with a rather chubby and angry looking face.

"Hey! Are you listing to me? I said to apologise for getting in my way!" the chubby kid said as Jaune was shaken from his thoughts as he realised that he was surrounded by three slightly larger kids. He instantly recognised the kid from his past as he looked at the face of his old middle school bully.

Jason Dumont and his two other cronies were the banes of Jaune's old middle school life. In the past, they had constantly bullied him since he was eight and had called the oh-so-lovable name of 'Wimpy Jauney' for the entire time he was at school.

They would knock over his books, tripped him in the hallway and even tried to flush his head down the school toilet. They generally treated him like he was beneath them. They were arrogant, spoiled and full of themselves. It all reminded him of Cinder before her fall, before she became a broken tool discarded by her master.

It burned at the corners of his soul, the rage and anger that he kept under tight lock.

He noticed that a lot of the kids had stopped in the hallway as they watched the slightly older boys pick on Jaune. Now in any other circumstance, he would just simply punched the guy and made them run off in fear.

That tactic was something he used often when he was travelling with team RNJR that kept them from being mugged by bandits. But Jaune knew that if he did anything to them now, it would reveal that he was stronger than he was and his parents would find out about his secret training.

He couldn't afford to waste any time justifying his training, so he just pretended to be weak and defenceless.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to,"

He pretended to be his former weak self as he did not want to raise suspicion. Acting that way always made him sick to his stomach to bow down to these boys, it made him remember the woman that was Cinder, and how he despised her arrogant smile and calm demeanour. He just couldn't wait to find her again and wipe that smirk off her face...

All across the pavement

Jason grinned as he slammed Jaune against the lockers and dropped him to the ground. The bullies then scoffed as he made his way away from them until Jason said something he would later regret.

"Yeah, that's what I thought...weakling"

Jaune immediately stopped as his body became rigid and still, the world around him was drowned in silence as the words 'weakling' echoed in his head.

"...What did you call me?" he said, his voice dripping with suppressed venom and rage, as he held his hand in a tight fist. His body shaking with the rage that was building up within him, but Jason didn't notice as he smirked at the boy and half expected the boy to run away like a small child.

"You heard me, I called you a weak-!" he was cut off as a blur appeared before him.

Before he could even register the pain, a fist was lodged straight into his stomach, as the air quickly left his chest. The blur quickly spun around and delivered a powerful kick to his face that launched him back from the force, his larger body flying far back across the hall until he slammed into the lockers on the other side.

The students gasped as the rest of Jason's friends stared in shock, their eyes shifted between where Jason was to Jaune's outstretched fist. They reeled back in fright as the boy shifted his gaze to meet their own. Cold blue eyes glaring back at them, as a terrifying presence surrounded him, causing them and all the other students to back off.

Ever since Beacon Fall, he hated the thought of being weak, his mind blaming him for what happened to Pyrrha and his friends, which became a constant source of anger and self-doubt inside of him. He hated the thought of being weak because he believed that it was his weakness got them killed...

And he hated himself ever since.

He shifted his gaze back to Jason as he stomped his way over to the boy; his hand grasping at the collar of his shirt, as he hefted the boy up to met his gaze. The boy instantly flinching in shock as cold blue eyes glared into his soul. He leant in closer as he whispered into the boy's frightened face.

 **"** _ **You have no right to ever call me weak, child...never..."**_ he growled as his hand gripped his collar tighter.

The boy's entire face was darkened by shadow, with terrifying blue eyes that seemed to glare into the boy's soul. A small voice whispering in his ears as Jaune felt himself slowly slip away into his anger. But just as he reared back his fist to punch the living daylights out of him.

"Mister Arc!" Jaune stopped at the voice as he turned and looked to see the teacher - looking very angry with him - as she got in between him and Jason. "What is the meaning of this?!" the teacher said as she helped Jason off the ground.

"My office, now!" the teacher yelled as she helped the bully towards the school infirmary while Jaune just realised what he had done.

"...Shit..." was all that he said as realised that he just screwed himself.

* * *

Gilded Arc, Two Hours Later

* * *

Jaune sat on the couch opposite his parents as disapproving scowls adorned their faces. From the corner of his eye, he could see his sisters hiding behind the archway, trying to peek in on the conversation their parents were having with their youngest brother.

His parents hadn't spoken to him since they left the principal's office after he beat up Jason, a child that used to frighten him, knowing that his parents had disapproved of what he did. But now that he was older mentally, he didn't care, he was just angry with himself for letting his anger get the best of him.

He knew what he had to do in order to prevent the horrifying future that was to come, he knew that he shouldn't have let one little kid get the best of him like the schoolyard bully that he was. But being called weak was a trigger for his anger; it reminded him of his failures, of all the things that had gone wrong in the future.

It reminded him of his inability to save the ones he loved and that haunted him for so many years. He just couldn't stand to be called weak anymore. But none of that mattered now as he sat before his parents as they scowled disappointingly at him.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in mister? You're lucky you only got a weeks suspension from school!" his mother's voice was raised higher than usual, a clear sign that she was upset.

"Why would you hit another student like that!? Can you imagine the surprise we felt when your school called us to say that you punched another child!? We're lucky that the parents haven't brought up any charges yet! What were you thinking!? Where did you even learn to fight like that!?" Jaune only hung his head as he glared at the floor as his father leant over to him.

"Jaune, answer your mother and tell us where you learnt to fight like that?" he said with a strict tone of his voice as Jaune only sighed and continued to stare at the floor. He knew he could not tell them the reason why he learned to fight, but he could tell them where he learned to fight. So thinking quickly on his feet, he came up with a somewhat believable lie.

"...I learnt how to fight from the books in the library downstairs, and I've spent the last three months been training in the forest," his father recoiled back while his mother gasped in horror. From the corner of his eyes, he could see some of his older sister's looked shock, while the younger ones had confused faces.

"The archives! How do you know about the archives!" Jaune looked away from him as he came up with another lie.

"I found it when I was playing in the halls. I accidentally hit a button on the wall and followed the stairs to the basement. They had all these books about sword and fighting style, that I wanted to learn how to use them," his parents had horrified faces.

"Jaune, those tomes are forbidden to anyone under the age of fifteen in the Arc bloodline, most of those techniques are designed to..." Roland paused as he tried to find the right way to word the meaning of kill to a small child.

Not that technically he wasn't a child; he just had a more mature mind.

"In any case, why would you want to learn to fight?" his mother asked as he sat up straight and glared into his parent's eyes.

"Because I want to be a Huntsman, I want to go to an Academy and be the Best Huntsman in the world," he said with so much conviction that it would make any parent proud. But for Jaune's parents, it only brought horror to them as they shared a quick glance with each other.

"Absolutely not!" his mother said as she stood up from the couch as she towered over the young boy. "There is no way your father and I are going to allow you to be a huntsman! That life is not what we want for you, it's too dangerous!" she said as his father nodded.

"Your mother is right, you have no idea of the dangers that come with that type of lifestyle," his father said as Jaune glared.

' _I already know what kind of life it leads; I've lived through the worst of it. But I can't let you stop me, not when I know what's going to happen'_

"But dad, it's what I want to be. You can't tell me how to live my life, it's my choice!" his father shook his head as he crossed his arms.

"And it's a choice we won't allow you to make, the life of a Huntsman is a dangerous one! It's nothing like the stories I've read to you before bed, its ones where the hero _**doesn't**_ always win and the villain is never _**truly**_ defeated. It's a lot harsher than that and you won't be able to protect yourself from that pain" Roland said as Jaune glared harder at his father.

"But I want to be able to fight! I want to be able to protect my family and my friends! Why can't you see that?" Jaune argued as his father sighed and laced his fingers together.

"Jaune, you don't understand it yet, but the heroes you hear in your fairy tales...they don't always get a happy ending...and they don't always get to save the ones they love," he said as Jaune noticed a familiar look in his eyes.

The same look he had when he lived in the alternate timeline...the pain of loss

His mother sighed as she sat down next to his father and held his hand. "Jaune we care about you so much, we just can't imagine you or any of your sisters having that kind of life...we just want you to be safe, we want to protect you," Jaune looked down as he clenched his fists.

"...What happens when you're gone...who will protect us then?"

His sisters and mother gasped as his father narrowed his eyes at him. He could see the anger that was burning in his father's eyes - but he couldn't care less - he needed to tell them that. He needed to tell them the truth, no matter how bitter it might be. Roland pointed upstairs as his hair shadowed his eyes.

"Go to your room, now...we'll talk about this later," Jaune only glared as he got up and walked past his sister's stunned faces.

As soon as he was away, both parents shared the same look of concern as they looked to the staircase. Both their minds buzzing with questions to their son's strange behaviour and why it was he was acting this way. They held each other's hands and prayed that they could see this situation through, and not cause a huge divide between themselves and their son.

* * *

One Week Later

* * *

A week had passed since Jaune was suspended from school, as he was allowed to return to school, on the condition he never does it again. However, in that time the townsfolk had begun to spread harsh whispers and many rumours about the boy's strange behaviour, as the whole town essentially began to isolate him.

Jaune didn't care about that. What did care, however, was the state of the Arc household which had become...strained, to say the least.

Jaune remained indifferent to his parents, while his parents found it difficult to talk to their son. He had become distant and secluded from his parents that the entire time during his suspension, he spent most of his time in his room and only came down to eat and use the bathroom. The relationship between parent and child had become strained and clouded as neither one was willing to compromise for the other.

Jaune didn't care however...all that mattered to him was his mission...nothing else. He didn't need their approval in the past...why would he need it now?

He placed his bag on his back, as he got ready to walk himself to school. With the current atmosphere that drowned the Arc homestead, it would be an awkward walk if his parents tried to take him.

Speaking of his parents, his mother was standing behind him at a short distance, as she sadly watched him tie his shoelaces all by himself - ready for a new day at school. His father stood at the top of the stairway, not with angry eyes, but eyes full of remorse and sadness as He too struggled with finding a way to reconnect with his son. But he was also too afraid to take the first step and not further the gap that formed between them.

Jaune reached for the doorknob as he twisted the brass metal as he made his way out the door. "...H-have a good day Jaune..."

He stopped as he looked back to his mothers pleading eyes; as he only stared back with a hollow look before slowly closing the door on his mother's sad face. Jaune rested his back against the oaken door as he willed himself not to cry or show any kind of emotion. He had lived for ten years without his parents in the future; he can't let this family drama get in the way of what needed to be done.

But it didn't stop the pain he felt in his heart...

In any case, he only had nine years left to prepare him for the invasion and he still could not unlock his aura.

He tried many techniques that he learned in the future involving aura control such as Meditation, Mantra's and even mental diving into his subconscious in an attempt to awaken his aura. But no matter what he did or how hard he tried, he still could not open the channels that existed within him.

Something inside of him was blocking his aura - some form of mental barrier that his mind could not hurl over. Something he had to overcome.

Maybe it had something to do with the war? Maybe some part of his mind could still not comprehend the knowledge that he was back in time, to before the days of Cinder. Then again he couldn't blame it, even he still had days where he wondered if this was real or not.

All The faces people he saw, all the smells that assaulted his nose and the entire peaceful atmosphere that was slowly suffocating him. He wondered if this was hell tormenting him, or if had just lost his mind years ago and dreamed the whole thing up inside a loony bin?

"Well, in any case, I need to keep a low profile for a while, just let this whole thing blow over and then resume my training. It's not like anyone could actually stop me," he said as he walked into the school.

* * *

Meanwhile in the Forest Outside the Village

* * *

Deep within the forest of Anima, a stray Ursa trotted its way through the forest as it wandered aimlessly amongst the large trees that surrounded the small town. The Grimm had neither a care in the world as it just mindlessly followed its own instincts and searched for something to fill its belly.

Suddenly the beast stopped as its instincts flared to life and it spun around the seemingly empty forest. Something inside of it was screaming to turn and run away, but at the same time, it felt that if it did, it would suffer more than anything more.

Silence blanketed the forest as the beast slowly growled at the small shrubbery that covered the forest. At first, nothing happened as the beast slowly relaxed and began to move away.

That's when it happened

Dark shadows sprung from the darkness of the forest as it instantly grabbed hold of the Ursa and swarmed around it. The Beast roared as the dark shadows covered and engulfed its entire being. Its body began convulsing and swell as the sounds of bones shifting and breaking resonated inside followed by its roar of pain that echoed in the forest.

And when the darkness settled two beady red eyes glared out into the forest as the dark shape stumbled towards the small town in the distance.

* * *

Spectrum Middle School

* * *

As he entered the school Jaune instantly noticed the wary glances at him, as he walked past each student. Some of them moving out of the way in fear of what he might do to them, and others just not wanting to be affiliated with him.

' _Geez, you'd think I had the plague or something?'_ Jaune thought to himself as he made his way to his locker, a group of kids instantly dispersing as he drew closer to his locker.

' _Well when you essential knock the head bully on his ass halfway across the hall, you're bound to get some attention'_ he dialled in the combination as he withdrew his books. Three shadows appeared on the locker as he sighed and closed the door.

' _Of course, the idiots_ _come back for more...why do bullies never learn to take a beating without wanting some form of revenge? Are they idiots? ...Then again that would explain Cardin?'_ His train of thought was cut off as he was grabbed by his backpack and spun around to meet the bandaged nose of Jason, and his two reluctant cronies. Jaune only sighed as he tried to find another way out.

"Look, Jason, I'm sorry I kicked you in the face and I promise it won't happen again. But I really don't want to get into this right now." The older boy didn't seem to care, as he just stood tall and glared at the boy.

"Oh you're right, it won't happen again, because you'll be dead meat!" the boy said as he grabbed Jaune by his collar and slammed him against the lockers. The students gathered in a circle as Jason chuckled at him.

"Jason, I'm serious, I really don't want to get into this today. I 've got enough to deal with without you acting all high and mighty on me!" he tried once more to reason with him but fell on deaf ears.

"Begging's not going to stop me from kicking your butt Arc!" Jason said as he reared back his fist.

"I'm not begging for mine! I'm begging for yours, you dimwit!" he yelled, as he only seemed to make the bully angrier.

"That's it! Now you're going to get it!" he yelled as he swung his fist forward, fully intent on punching the living daylights out of Jaune.

To the world, it seemed as of the fist was moving at high speeds. To Jaune however, it was as if it was the slowest thing in the world that he could easily evade. However, Jaune knew that if he attacked him again it would only hamper his progress. His parents would enact stricter rules and have him under constant surveillance, which would make it harder to sneak out in his younger body. So that only left him with one choice...

He would have to take the hit

Jaune closed his eyes as he waited for what felt like an eternity for the boy's fist to hit his face. He knew that it was humiliating to get his ass handed to him by this fat bully, but he knew had more important things to worry about then some schoolyard bully. Like the White Fang, Cinder and-

 **"RAWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"**

A loud roar echoed through the school as Jaune's eyes snapped open and Jason's fist hung in the air before him. The students stood there stunned, as they slowly turned their heads towards the as a large shadow was cast over them. Eyes widened in fear and mouths dropped open in shock as Jaune could only stare in horror at what he saw.

"...No..."

Standing in front of the window was the largest Ursa Major he had ever seen - and he was not accounting for his small size.

Its entire body was covered in bone like plating with massive spikes protruding out of its armour like most Ursa Majors. But this one was different as instead of just markings on the mask, the Grimm had marks that stretched all across its body and the spikes that decorated its bones. Two blood red eyes seemed to glare into their souls, but none so more than Jaune as he felt that those eyes were directed at him alone.

And with one loud ear-deafening roar all hell broke loose.

The students looked screamed in fright, as loud cloister bells echoed throughout the town.

Students began to panic and scream in fear as the Ursa raised its paw to smash the glass, only to recoil as gunshots bounced off its armoured back. The Grimm turned to face the assailants, as the village guards readied their weapons and charged against the large beast. But stumbled in fear as the Grimm roared and charged at the men.

"Grimm! There is a Grimm in the school!" one of the younger kids yelled as the teachers began desperately to try and round up the students.

"All right children listen up! We are heading to the bunker now! Everyone pair up and stay together!" one of the teachers yelled as she began to gather the students together. But was hard to accomplish, as children were screaming their heads off in fear.

Jaune, however, was not scared, but more shocked as he looked out the window at the large Ursa Major that was wreaking havoc on the town guards. Bodies flying through the air, as men after men were sent flying from one swing of its paw.

' _What the hell is going on here!? A Grimm never attacked the school in the past!? What's one doing here now!?'_ his eyes widened at a disturbing thought that came to his mind.

' _Is this...is this an effect of me coming back to the past? Did I somehow change history and lured that Grimm here?'_ he shook his head as he peeked his head from the corner of the window and observed the Grimm. His eyes widened as he turned to the still panicking students and the teachers desperately trying to regain control.

"GET DOWN!" he yelled as a body came sailing through the window and slammed into the lockers, the man's sword flying out of his hand as it pierced the ground right beside Jaune, but did not react in fear like the others.

Children screamed and teachers gasped in fright at the sight of the man, his leg twisted in odd angles as blood slowly piled on the floor around him. Jaune instantly recognised him as Jason's father, Maroon DuPont as the man groaned in pain.

"DAD!" Jason yelled as he quickly ran over to his father, as the man looked up painfully at his son.

"J-Jason, get to the bunker! This Grimm-argh! It's like nothing I've ever seen before!" the man said through pained filled gasps as Jaune stared at the man.

Images of children crying over the bodies of their parents as cities burned all around them and memories of him standing over their bodies flashed in his mind. His breath became hitched in his throat as he looked over at the father and son and his hand tightened into a fist. The Ursa slowly strolled into the school as Maroon and Jason both looked up to see the Grimm as it towered over their form.

"Get behind me!" Maroon said as he placed himself in front of his son and attempted to shield him.

The Beasts shadow soon consumed them as it raised its bony paw and roared at the pair. Maroon glared as the beast swung its paw, only for a blur to appear and slice deep into the beasts exposed paw. The Grimm roared in rage as the massive claw narrowly missed the pair and impaled the locker beside them.

The pair turned their heads, as their eyes widened in shock, as Jaune stood away from them. Maroon's sword held firmly in his hand but held it held like a claymore - due to his size and the weight of the weapon - that did not deter the boy as he glared at the beast and hefted the sword in front of him, pointing the tip towards him.

"Come on! Come get me!" he yelled as the Ursa growled in rage and charged at the boy.

Its feet pounding into the oaken floors, as Jaune hefted the blade to his side, as the beast lunged at him only to strike the wooden floor as Jaune sped through its legs and slashed at its hind legs. The beast roared in pain as it spun around and struck again into the floor and once again missed as Jaune sped to the smashed window.

"Come on! This way you overstuffed teddy bear!" he mocked as the creature snarled and chased after the boy.

' _I need to get it out of the school, away from the others!_ _But why is it here, this doesn't make any sense?'_ he thought as he continued to evade the beasts massive claws, the groundbreaking beneath his feet as he jumped and evaded each and every one of its strikes.

Jaune could barely get a few slashes in, due to his small body and the size of the sword that was at least twice as tall as his body and weighed more than half his weight.

However, thanks to the training he had been doing three months prior, he was at least able to swing the sword and manoeuvre it enough to stay alive. He hefted the sword over his shoulder as he slashed at the armour plating around Ursa's front paws, only to clash against the bone like plating, leaving little damage done by the steel blade.

' _Damn it! This would be a lot easier if I had my Aura active or at the very least Crocea!'_ he thought as he continued to try and at least injure the beast. But no matter how hard he struck; the blade could not pierce the Grimm's thick armour.

' _I just need to find a gap in its armour_ _, a small section where I can piece the blade into its chest! But the damn thing is too fast for me to find it, which should be impossible for something of its size!'_

He rolled out of the way as the large bear slammed its paws into the courtyard. Each time the bear hit the ground, a large crack spread across the playground, as the schoolyard had almost completely turned into a battlefield.

' _So that begs the question, what the hell is this thing and did Salem send it? And if so...then why here?'_

The beast roared as Jaune held the blade of the sword in his hands as he charged at the beast.

* * *

Earlier at the Gilded Arc

* * *

Roland watched from the counter as his wife absent-mindedly cleaned the same spot on the counter for the past fifteen minutes. Cleaning and wiping the same spot, while looking out the window towards the school. It was clear that her thoughts were centred on their son and the argument they had a week ago.

About how their son had gone behind their backs, went down into the archives and learned knowledge that should be forbidden to the younger generation. Even their eldest daughter didn't know about the archives, and she was their first-born child.

But what had affected them the most was the way their son had a question, what would happen if they died?

Now, while that may have seemed a bit cold coming from an eight-year-old child, it did raise a troubling question within the parents. What would happen if they were gone? How would their children survive if they were no longer there to protect them?

This left the parents feeling terrified of the possibility that they would not be able to protect their children if something were to happen to them, Mostly because they had no other family members to look after them if they passed away. Roland's parents were dead, with no siblings that could look after them, and Diana was an orphan before she made a name for herself long ago back in Mistral.

Sure their eldest daughter could look after them, but she had not received any combat training at all, the same as her other sisters because they did not want to force a lifestyle of fighting on their family despite coming from such a previously illustrious family of warriors.

They just didn't want to expose their children to a life of death and suffering, just to live up to the expectations of a long gone dynasty. But their son was determined to become a Huntsman, even going as far as to go behind their backs to do so.

Which left them with the question, were they making the right decision?

Roland sighed as he walked over to his wife and gently embraced her from behind. Diana leaning into his embraces as they stared down at the table.

"Are we doing the right thing? Not letting Jaune become a huntsman? It's not like we can stop him forever, eventually, he'll grow up and leave the nest to do what he wants and we will have done nothing to prepare him...I could teach him how to control his aura, and you could teach him how to use a sword. With our knowledge, we could prepare him to be the best Huntsman this world would ever see...but are we selfish for wanting a different life, a better life than that?" she turned around as she looked into her husband's eyes.

"Are we wrong?" Roland could only sigh as he rested his head on the nook in her neck.

"I don't know, I honestly don't know. You and I know both know what it's like out there, all the blood and all the death, it changed us and made us realise that the world is not a safe place. And I swore that I would never let that happen to our family..." he rested his head as Diana held his arm.

"But what he said is true, what would happen if we aren't around anymore? And that alone terrifies me...But still...I don't want that life for them, maybe if-" He was cut off as the tavern doors burst open and they snapped their heads towards the town guard.

"Roland! Diana! A Grimm has entered the town and is attacking the school!"

"What!? How!? How did a Grimm get into the school?!" Roland said as Diana's hands flew up to her mouth to startle a shriek.

"That's not the worst part, your son is the one fighting it!" both eyes widened as fear struck their hearts.

"What!?" Diana yelled as Roland quickly sprung to the nearest wall and removed a large broadsword from its rest. Diana grabbed what looked like a long flintlock rifle, but had a modified cartridge and a long sword running along the barrel.

"Bleu, look after your sisters! We'll be right back!" Roland said to his daughter as she nodded from the archway. Roland gestured to Diana as they both ran out of the tavern, hoping beyond hope that they were not too late to save their son.

* * *

Schoolyard

* * *

Jaune desperately avoided each attack, as the large _**'Enhanced Ursa'**_ continued to focus on him. By now some of the townspeople had gathered around the school but were too afraid to do anything, seeing as the Grimm had incapacitated most of the town guard with only Jaune left to face the beast.

Jaune, however, didn't care about the bystanders as he focused on evading the massive beast's claws. The claws striking into the playground as the metal bars were ripped to shreds like pieces of tinfoil.

' _Ok, let's get a_ _recap of the situation here;_ _A Grimm has somehow snuck into the village and is currently attacking the school-'_ Metal and dust swept across the field as Jaune only just managed to get to a safe distance _._

 _'Who seems to be mostly targeting me, only attacking anyone else that tries to interferes in our fight._ ' he glanced over at the town's guardsmen that tried to attack the beast but were now sporting painful wounds.

' _So I can only assume that this thing is only after me, but why? No one should know about me for another ten years or so. So why is big and terrifying here only after me? And why is it so different from normal Grimm? ?hat is going on here-OH MAN!'_ his thoughts were interrupted as he narrowly evaded a massive paw that smashed the ground at his feet.

' _That was close! I need to focus on the matter at hand, which is not to be killed!'_ he raised the sword again as he pointed at the beast. _'It's a good thing I've been training for the past three months otherwise I'd be dead right about now! But without my aura...'_ the Ursa reared itself back on its hind legs as he roared at the boy.

"This is going to be one tough son of a bitch!"

The Beast released a powerful roar as it bounded towards the brave boy, who raised his sword in defences ready to fight the enhanced Grimm. It swiped its massive paws towards the boy who only just managed to evade its massive size, thanks to his smaller size and speed but unfortunately, his body was still not at the necessary level to take on a Grimm of this magnitude.

Jaune swung the sword with all his strength as the metal blade bounced off the Grimm's bone like armour. Right before the beast backhanded him with his paw, having only seconds to use the sword as a shield to absorb the impact, but the force still sent him flying back as his back smacked against the back of the school tree.

He quickly shook off his daze before he looked up and ducked just as the Grimm slashed into the tree itself, but only managed to get itself stuck in the tree by its claws.

Jaune skidded back before he stood in the centre of the playground and took the moment to catch his breath. His small muscles were burning and his breathing was heavy as he tried his best to keep himself on his feet.

The teachers had managed to get the children in the bunker inside the school, so that meant no one else would get drawn into this deadly match between the Grimm and himself. The Grimm was solely focused on him, meaning that the large Grimm wouldn't attack the injured guardsmen and for once in his life.

He was glad that the townspeople - that had gathered around the school - were too afraid to interfere. The last thing he needed was to worry about civilians getting in his way.

But the fact was that he was almost out of strength to continue fighting. His body was just not ready to take on a Grimm of this size - especially seeing as it was somehow enhanced by some unknown power.

At most, he would last maybe another minute or two before he would succumb to fatigue, something that the Grimm would take full advantage of and end his life in an instant. The Ursa ripped his claws from the trunk as three large scars would forever remain on its surface, before turning around and facing the blond warrior that stood before him, as Jaune too readied his blade to fight the beast.

"Jaune!"

A familiar voice cried out to him that caused him to turn his attention to the entrance of the school as bounding down the road where both his parents. Even from a distance, he could see the look of worry and fear on their faces as they ran even faster towards their son. But it was in that moment that Jaune realised he made one fatal mistake...

He took his eyes off his opponent

Before he or anyone could react, the beast appeared before Jaune and slammed his claws straight into the boys face causing blood to fly through the air and the anguished cry of his mother's screams.

Luckily at the last second, Jaune just managed to bring up the sword to catch the attack, only to shatter into pieces as he still flew through the air and felt an intense stinging on his face. He rolled across the ground as his back slammed against the wall that separated the school from the village as he gasped in pain from the blow.

He could barely keep his eyes open as his parent's enraged screams seemed distant to him as he lay on the ground. Through half closed eyes he could just see his parents rushing to him, only to be blocked by the large Grimm that now turned its attention on the couple and engaged them in battle.

' _Shit...is this really it? Is this really how it ends? I come back to the past, only to end up dying before I could change anything. Fuck...even when I'm given a second chance I still screw up...I'm sorry everyone...'_ his eyes slowly began to close as he faded closer into darkness.

' _But I failed...'_

Darkness overwhelmed him as he felt the cold slowly consume his form and all semblance of light was slowly drained from his form.

"Diana!" his eyes slowly open as he watched his mother attempt to rush past the beast, only to be struck across the back and flung across the schoolyard.

"Damn you!" Roland screamed as he rushed at the beast with his sword raised high strike before he too was batted away and tumbled next to his wife, his sword clattering to the side as he lay next to Diane.

Roland struggled to stand up but only managed to get on his knees as the Grimm slowly walked towards them. He put himself in front of Diana as he prepared to fight and die protecting the one he loved.

Jaune eyes stared blankly at the scene as his heartbeat slowly increased inside his chest. Blurry images scratched the surface of his mind as his eyes opened wider. The same scene as before, only in a different time and place, as the world was drowned in a blazing fire, His eyes wider than before as the blurry images became memories from his past as the exact same scene played out before him.

'... _No...'_

 _The past showed the same type of Grimm towering over his parents as it raised its blood-covered claws._

 _'...No...'_

 _His father putting himself in front of his mother as the man was cut down by the another of the large beast. His blood pooling beneath its feet, as the fire of his burning home, casts a great shadow over his mother._

 _'...Not again...'_

 _His mother glancing at him as she looked into his freighted eyes, only to smile softly as the beast roars again and raises its claw one last time._

 _'...I won't...I won't...'_

Jaune slowly picks himself up as his body softly glows with a powerful white light. He stands up on his own two feet, on as a large pulse echoes from his body, drawing the attention of both the Grimm and his parents. The glow turns into flames of ivory as he glares up at the Grimm as his eyes burn with a furious white.

An image of Pyrrha appeared before him as a spark ignited in his soul

' _I won't let it happen again!_ ' his aura exploded around him in a torrent of white fire, with the very ground beneath his feet cracking from the pressure as he glared at the large Grimm that growled at the glowing boy. His parents could only stare in mute shock as their eight-year-old son radiates with power.

Jaune on his part took the moment to look at his hand as it was engulfed in white flames.

' _T-this is my aura! But something's different, it's way larger than it was in the future_ _. How can that be?'_ the Grimm's snarl brought him back as he glared at the beast.

"Right! Grimm first! Questions later!" The Ursa roars as it charges towards the boy swinging its large claw at the boy, only for Jaune evade the attack and plunges the broken blade into the Grimm's eye.

The beast roars as it thrashed and stumbled in pain from the broken blade now lodged in its eye. Just as he manages to jump away, Jaune noticed a small gap in the centre of its chest as most of the red marks that covered its body seemed to originate from that one point, as it glowed with a small ominous light.

' _That gap in the centre of its chest,_ _that might be its weakness!'_

Jaune jumped away just as the beast attempted to swat at him, at first he nearly overshot his mark when he jumped away from the beast attack. But he quickly manages to control himself long enough to make his way over to his father's fallen sword.

Guided by nothing but his instinct and the aura that now flowed through him, he grasped the handle of the large claymore in his hands just as the beast turns around and charges at the boy. Using all of his strength he manages to lift the sword, points the blade to the beast and plunges it into the monster's chest - just as the beast strikes at him and glancing its claws off his shoulder.

Silence blanketed the schoolyard before the Grimm makes a gargled sound, as it attempted to claw at the blade in its chest. Only for Jaune to push the blade in further into the beast.

He then poured all of his Aura into the handle, flooding the blade with a brilliant stream of fire as the beast screamed in horror as its insides were rapidly burned away. The back of the beast then exploded in a geyser white flame as the beast released one last roar before the flames disappeared and it collapses on its side.

Jaune doubled over as he attempted to catch his breath. The muscles in body screaming to rest as the adrenaline finally began to wear off. Unbeknownst to him, the red markings turned black as they slowly recede and formed a symbol on its back. A symbol of a three-horned dragons head that turned into a dark mist and quietly slithered into the ground.

Jaune watches as the beast massive body slowly returns to its original form before his head feels lighter and his body begins to topple over.

"What the..." was all he managed to say before he fell to the ground and parents startled yell was all he heard as he once again fell into darkness.

"Jaune!"

* * *

The Gilded Arc, Three Hours Later

* * *

A bright light peeks through the cracks in his eyelids as he slowly awakens to the world, nearly blinded by the light on the ceiling as he instantly recognises the contents of his room while trying to raise his body from his bed.

"Ah man, didn't anyone get the license plate of that bus that hit me?" he muttered to himself as he placed a hand on his forehead.

He feels something damp roll off his forehead as he notices a small towel had been placed on his forehead. The door to his room opened as his mother walked in with a new towel in a basin of water to replace the one on his forehead.

"Jaune!" Only to gasp in shock as she dropped the basin of water and rushed to her newly awakened son. She instantly ran to his side as she locked him in a deep embrace, fearing that if she let go for even a second he would disappear from her grasp.

"Jaune! Oh, my baby boy! You're all right! You're safe, thank The Gods!" she wept as she held her son tight, his father slowly walking into the room but stayed by the doorframe, almost as if he was afraid to enter the room itself.

Jaune couldn't understand why, but the look on his face was different from anything he had ever seen before on the man, something that was an odd mixture of what Jaune could only describe as relief...and guilt? As soon as he was out of his mother's grasp she slapped him across the face as he was shaken out of his stupor.

"Ow..." was all he managed to say before his mother grabbed him by the shoulders and glared at him.

"Jaune Miles Luna Arc! What in the name of the seven deities were you thinking! How could you take on a Grimm by yourself! Do you know how worried your father and I were when we heard that you were fighting? How terrified I was when I saw-!" she tried to suppress a sob as she gripped his shoulders tighter.

"How terrified I was when I saw my baby boy being flung across by the Grimm..." her shoulders began to shake as she lowered her head and softly cried.

"I-I thought I'd lost my baby...don't...don't ever do that again!" Jaune could only look at his mother and felt an immense amount of guilt when he realised something.

In all the time that he focused on preventing the future that was to come, he had forgotten about the people he was trying to protect.

He had forgotten that before he became a survivor in a war-torn future, before he became a man filled with regret and anger and before he was set on this path of redemption. He was once just a boy named Jaune Arc, who was a son of a family that loved him. He realised now that he had been slowly pushing away the people he came back to protect, he was slowly distancing himself from those that he risked life and limb to defend.

What was the point of coming back to the past, if he just made the ones he loved fear for him?

He hesitantly raised his hand as he placed it on his mother back, slowly reassuring her that he was ok.

"I'm sorry mum, I didn't...I didn't mean to make you worried. But...but I just couldn't stand by as others got hurt, not when I could have done something to save them. Jason might have lost his father if I didn't act, and I just somehow know I would never want to lose my father..." Roland lowered his head slightly as he son continued to comfort his mother.

"I'm really sorry I lied to you about my training, and I'm sorry about what I said a week ago. But I have to get stronger, not for myself, but so I can protect the people I care about...so that one day I can protect all of you" he said with a sad smile as his parents looked at him with a small hint of pride in their chests.

Diane smiled softly as she brushed away the tears from his face as Roland slowly walked up behind her. Jaune stared up at his father as Diane moved over on the bed and sat next to his son. The pair just remained silent as the family just sat in comfortable silence.

"...Dad, I'm sorry that I-" Jaune tried to say before his father raised a hand.

"No son, I'm the one who has to say sorry..." Jaune raised an eyebrow at them as the man looked down at his hand.

"When I saw you fighting that Grimm, I was so terrified, I thought that I wouldn't be able to protect you. But in the end, I ended up being the one that needed to be protected..." he looked down at his hand as he gripped his fist.

"I thought that in this time of peace I didn't need to get stronger, that I could protect my family with my own two hands...but now I realise that you were right. I'm not always going to be here to protect you, and it was selfish to think that I could..." he then looked at Diane as she silently nodded.

"And after what happened today and seeing you awaken your aura, something I'm really proud of, we realised that we need to stop living this fantasy of ours and prepare you all for anything. We need to do our jobs as parents and prepare you for the hardships of life on Remnant" Jaune eyes widened slightly as he felt his heartbeat quicken.

"Y-you mean?" his father nodded as he as placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

"From now on we are going to train you all to defend yourselves, for the time when we are no longer around...that's if you want us to train you son?" his father said as Jaune slowly nodded his head.

"Y-yeah! That's-that's great! I promise I won't let you down!" he said as Roland chuckled at his son's excited enthusiasm.

Jaune blushed as he hid his head under his blanket, getting lost in the moment that he had forgotten that he was a child with the mind of a now thirty-five-year-old and had just let his inner child out. It was the first time his father actually acknowledged his potential and wanted to train him. Of course, he'd be happy.

Could you blame him?

"Get some rest Jaune, we'll see you in the morning," his mother said as she kissed his forehead while his father rustled the top of his head.

"Ok, night mum, night dad," he said as his parents closed the door and he lay back in his bed and gazed up at the ceiling. But his mind was flashing back to the battle as he fought against the 'Grand Ursa or Enhanced Ursa' as he dubbed it.

' _That Grimm, why was it after me? And why was it different than a normal Ursa? What caused it to change like that? Did Salem do that? No, not even she has that kind of power, and it felt...familiar'_ He looked at his right hand as he remembered during the fight that his aura felt different than it had in the future.

' _And my aura, it definitely felt larger than in my old timeline. Could it be a result of me coming back to the past or is it b_ _ecause my body is younger? No, I don't think that's the case; it's almost like its doubled in size? But how is that possible? I thought aura doesn't change?'_ he shook his head as he smiled at himself.

' _It doesn't matter, all that counts is that I have my aura back and it's stronger than ever. I can change things for the better now; I can beat Cinder, I can stop Salem and I kill The Grimm King. And this time...'_ he gripped his fist tightly as he gazed up with determination.

' _I will be ready'_

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

Far away from the swamps of Mistral in a house overlooking a large city - in a room filled with childish toys and posters - small bits of paper and a half-written journal lay scattered around a small child as she stared at a piece of paper in her hands.

A hand-drawn picture of a young man with yellow hair and dark blue eyes smiled at her with a half crooked smile, as the girl holds the picture close to her chest. The young girl looks up as she looked up at the shattered moon that hung in the night sky.

A small tear came to her eye and she whispered...

"...Jaune..."

* * *

 **And end scene, well here it is Chapter III of Restart. Wow, that took longer than expected. I'm really sorry for the late updates to these stories, but I have a life and work and school and a lot of shit that's been going on so thank for being patient with me.**

 **But what does this all mean? Who is this girl and how does she know his name if they've never even met? If you've already guessed, then I think I made it a bit too obvious. But now Jaune will receive training from his parents and will be stronger than ever.**

 **As for his aura, I will explain it next chapter, but feel free to tell me your theories. And look forward to my next update, hopefully for Remnant Knight Chapter 4, which I'm still working on.**

 **Next time: Chapter IV - The Shining Beacon Redux**


	4. Chapter IV: The Shining Beacon Redux

RWBY: Restart

When the world is destroyed and all that he has known is taken from. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future...just not the way he expected.

* * *

Chapter IV: The Shining Beacon Redux

* * *

Loud clashes of steel echoed in the forest as two swords struck each other at incredible speeds. Sparks shot off from the blades as Jaune rolled away from Roland - just as the man slashed his sword at his son - only for the blade to leave a large gash in a defenceless tree. But the man left little time for Jaune to react as he swung his sword again.

Jaune raised his blade to block and defend himself as he buckled slightly from the strength behind his father's blade.

"Not bad Jaune, your skill is getting better!" the man said as he raised his blade and brought it down towards the boy again.

Jaune only just managed to jump back as the sword struck the earth and kicked up a large plume of dust. He looked back at his father and the gash it left, as the man lifted the large broadsword and rested it on his shoulder.

"But you still have a way to go if you want to beat me!" he said with a grin as Jaune smirked as he held his own blade.

"We'll see about that old man!" he remarked as the man's eye twitched for a brief moment before charging at his son.

Jaune, however, positioned his blade to his side as he waited patiently for the right moment. His father running towards him - the massive sword swinging through the air - as Jaune merely followed the blade with his eyes.

But just as the blade was about to hit him he ducked under the blade - took a moment to watch his father's stunned face - and swung his sword as a large metal clang echoed in the forest.

Jaune and his father remained completely still as none of them moved an inch before a section of a blade landed behind Roland, who looked at his son and then at his own blade - as the sword in his hand was cut cleanly in half. He then looked back to his son, who was grinning at his father's stunned reaction, as Roland stared for what seemed the longest of time before he too grinned and laughed loudly.

"Hahahaha! That's my son! You got me! I'm so proud of you!" he cheered as he grabbed his son and rubbed his hair affectionately. Jaune smiled as his father showed his pride for his skill, something he had rarely seen in the original timeline.

"Now, let's head back, your mother should be done training your sisters by now," Jaune nodded and began to pack away his things before walking out of the forest with his father.

A lot had changed for the family since the incident at the school nine years ago, which had been a wake-up call for Roland and Diana, as they realised that they could not protect their children if both of them would pass away. Fearing that, they decided they needed to train their children - something they should have done years ago.

And seeing how Jaune was able to defeat this creature with only three months worth of self-training, they decided that they needed to properly prepare their children for the harsh road of life.

The parents took turns training their children in the ways of the Huntsman. Teaching them how to use weapons, control their aura and learn how to survive in hostile environments with the bare essentials.

Not that Jaune already knew how to do all this; he just found it heartwarming to actually be taught by his parents.

In any case, Jaune was now able to fully focus on retraining his body and learning to control his now massive amounts of aura without his parents interfering. He still wondered how it was that his aura increased to such a large state?

The best theory he could come up with was that since he had broken off from the original timeline and merged with his younger body in an 'alternate timeline' similar to his own. His soul had merged with his younger self and increased his aura reserves exponentially. He also assumed that his memories probably also merged with his younger self as well, which technically made him the Jaune of both timelines.

Time travel, why is it always such a pain to figure out?

It took him a bit longer to regain his strength and he would need roughly a few more years to ever regain his full strength. But he could he had more than enough power to defeat Cinder this time around and prevent the Battle of Beacon. And now, today was the day he would set out and make his way to Beacon.

Today would begin his plan to stop Cinder and prevent the horrible future.

"Jaune!" a voice cried out just as Jaune and his father returned to town. He turned to see Jason followed by his gang of friends behind him. The boy then stood before him as he saluted.

"Boss, we just finished our training exercise and are waiting for your next orders?" he said as Jaune smiled.

"Good work guys, but take the day off today alright, you guys earned it," he said as Jason nodded.

"Yes sir!" the gang said as the then left Jaune and his father.

"Hard to imagine he was once your bully, huh son?"

"Yeah, hard to imagine..." he said as he watched the gang run another lap around the town.

Jason had changed a lot since the attack nine years ago after Jaune saved him and his father as he had begun to show respect to Jaune, thanking him for saving his father and apologized for all the mean things he did to him. Jaune forgave them and told them to no longer pick on the weak and instead protect them with all their might.

This had unintentionally caused them to see him differently, as they viewed him as someone worthy of respect. That was why they called him 'Boss' whenever they saw him. They even took part in border patrols around the village and helped to protect the villagers from stray Grimm that wandered into the area.

As for Jaune's family, they too had grown stronger in the nine years that had passed.

Diane and Roland began to regain some of their former strength and alternated between training their children and managing the tavern - they had to hire some more staff to manage the small tavern. And while they were not the same level they used to be when they were younger, the parents were now strong enough that they could easily protect their family from any danger that came their way.

Jaune's sisters had difficulty at first, but they slowly began to grow stronger then they used to be. Now a single pack of Beowolves would not stand a chance against them - Something that Jaune was grateful for this time around.

He could still remember watching his family perish against the Grimm army so long ago in the alternate timeline.

Jaune and his father made their way through the village, they took their time to stop and wave to the citizens as they passed by. Most of the people they passed seemed to show a newfound respect for both Jaune and his family. A few girls Jaune's age would smile and bash their eyelashes his way, while Jaune would only blush and turn his head away.

It seemed that since Jaune had saved the school from the Grimm nine years ago, and for his assistance in helping the town's guard defend the village, he had become somewhat of a local hero in the eyes of the small town.

Children would look up at him like he was a superhero. His fellow classmates would ask to serve under him as his 'soldiers' and some of the girls would profess their attraction to him.

Even the adults that used to think he was worthless in the alternate timeline, would treat him with respect and praise for him saving the town and their children. Honestly, it was a little overwhelming to be treated like a celebrity for once in his life.

Now he knew how Pyrrha felt when she won the Mistral Championships four years in a row.

But he never once let any of this popularity go to his head, while good as it felt to be accepted, he knew that he had more important things focus than the approval of one town. Like preventing the bleak future that could potentially come to pass, than to bask in the glory of the present.

But still, it was nice to feel accepted for once.

"You sure have become quite popular, huh son?" Roland said as he noticed a few girls winking at his son. "Maybe you might find yourself a girlfriend soon, hmm? Give your mum and I some grandkids?" he grinned as Jaune blushed slightly.

"Wha-! No! Nothing like that dad! They're just flirting with me, that's all!" the man just laughed at his son's blushing face before Jaune looked down with a small smile.

"And besides, I never wanted to be popular in the first place. I just wanted to protect the people I care about, as for girlfriends..." his mind wandered back to Pyrrha as he remembered all the times he was oblivious to her feelings.

"Maybe when I find the right girl either here...or out there," Roland chuckled at his son.

"True, now come on we are almost home," he said as Jaune nodded but stopped as his scroll chimed and he read the message.

"Actually, I have to go pick up that thing from Henry. Is it alright if I meet you back at the house?"

"No problem, but are you sure you don't want us to help pay for it? it really wouldn't be a bother" Jaune only shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. This is something I have to do myself, you know?" the man only stared but then chuckled.

"All right, but be back before dark, your mother and I have a surprise for you," he said as Jaune looked confused this time.

"A surprise? What is it?"

"If I told you, then it wouldn't be a surprise would it?" he said as he then walked away. "See you at home Jaune," he said as he walked back to the Tavern.

Jaune stood in the middle of the road looking confused before he shrugged and began walking to the smiting district of town. After a few minutes of walking, Jaune stood before an old looking forge with a sign reading 'Fires of the Prometheus' hanging on a small wooden plank. He knocked on the door as it opened to reveal a young looking girl with chestnut brown hair and grey coloured eyes.

"Jaune! You're here!" the girl said as she smiled brightly at the girl.

"Hey Pan, I got a text from your father before, is he here?" he as the girl nodded.

The girl before him was Pandora Hephaestus; she was the daughter of the town's only weaponsmith and one of Jaune's earliest childhood friends before he left for beacon one week from today.

"Sure is, come on in, we just finished your order. Dad! Jaune's here!" she yelled out as a large elderly looking man with a long white braided beard and a thinning hairline on his scalp walked into the room. He wore a leather apron, gloves and boots with a grey coloured shirt and black worker pants.

"Ah! Jaune, good you're here, I just put on the finishing touches. I think you are really going to like it," the man said as Jaune nodded and entered the forge.

The man Jaune was currently seeing was Henry Hephaestus, the town's local weapon smith and Jaune's weapons expert in future that never was. He was also a friend of his mother Diana from her early huntsmen days when she had commissioned him for her first weapons.

Henry used to be a big name weapons smith back in Mistral a few years ago - forging weapons and armours of the highest quality. But one day a client ordered him to create a suit of armour that would make him indestructible against any opponent - something Henry told him multiple time would be impossible - but the client wouldn't hear of it.

Nevertheless, he forged the highest quality armour he could make and surprise, surprise, the kid died on his first mission. Even though he had told the client multiple times that the armour could only protect him from so much harm, the family sued him for all his worth and he was forced to relocate to Jaune's hometown in exile.

When Jaune had met him he was more than happy just to craft horseshoes and fix small mundane problems. That is until the attack on the school nine years ago - the same school that his only daughter was attending - and because Jaune had saved her and the lives of the other students, the man felt he owed a debt to the boy.

It also helped that Pan was a childhood friend of his and asked her father to help him.

In any case, the situation worked out in Jaune's favour, as it was always part of his plan to craft a new weapon that would give him an edge against Salem and the Grimm King's forces. A weapon that would help slay any Grimm that stood in his path as well as kill any and all of Cinder's forces to prevent the future that was to come. And Henry, being an old friend of Jaune's mother, knew that he was the best man in all of Mistral to craft him a weapon.

It pays to have friends in certain places.

They walked into the forge as a large object was covered by a sheet of cloth. "I think you are really going to like this kid, it's my best work yet..." he said as he drew back the cloth and revealed what it had shrouded.

"Allow me to introduce...Retribution!"

On the table was a large double-edged great sword that was roughly 1.5 meters in length, 30 cm's in width and 10 cm's thick in the centre that gradually tapered off into an edge with a triangular pointed end.

At the joining hilt of the blade was a large circular dial with five different symbols of the elements, with a separate circle in the middle. Several indented lines branched out from the circle and encumbered all around the sword from the base to the tip of the blade.

The blade itself was dark grey in colour with a dark silver edge along with a golden square hilt and a deep red handle attached to a golden square pommel. Etched into the steel were several strange glyphs and markings that it seemed almost alien to anyone looking at the blade.

"I crafted it to your exact specifications, it's made from a rare steel and titanium alloy mixture, so it should withstand extreme temperatures. It's equipped with rotating dust chamber with five dust elements of Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Lightning per your request. When activated the blade will be coated with whatever element you chose, which you can operate from the control dial on the handle here," he said as he showed a circular silver ring at the base of the hilt.

"You can also mix the dust in this chamber here to create secondary elements, just twist the handle and inject by pulling down," he demonstrated as the outer dial twisted and injected into the inner circle. But since there was no dust in the cartridges at the moment, the inner circle was empty.

"Right now the dust chambers are empty - so I can demonstrate how to use it. But simply put these dust cartridges in the dial and you'll be good to go," he said as he showed five different cartridges with five elements.

"It also has those 'Special Features' that you asked for, but I'll let you figure them out later" Jaune nodded as he looked at the blade. "And here are the guns you ordered," he placed a case on the table as he opened it up and revealed three weapons.

"One modified Atlesian service pistol, with thirty-six bullets a clip, laser sight and built-in suppressor." He held up a black service pistol with a square laser sight attached to the under the barrel. On the side of the Gun was the inscription of Judgment.

"One sawn-off shotgun with explosive and incendiary shells for those...larger than life missions," He placed a sawn-off shotgun with an oaken frame on the table. On the wooden handle was the carving of the word Retaliation.

"And one Mistralian forty-four magnum revolver with dust ammunition. With the number of weapons you have, I doubt any Grimm will stand a chance...though why did you want this one to be inscribed 'Executioner'?" he asked as Jaune held the revolver in his hand.

The same revolver that Cinder had killed herself with in the future.

"Let's just say I'm saving it for a very...special occasion," the man started before shrugging his shoulders and packing the weapons away.

"All in all I think is a damn fine set of weapons you've got here...too bad you won't be able to lift the sword," he said as he banged his knuckles against the steel. "The alloy mixture you requested has made this sword too damn heavy to use - you'd need to be at least as strong and as tall as I am in order to lift it."

Jaune simply grabbed the blade as he easily lifted the blade over his head and made a few practice swings with it - stunning both the man and his daughter - as he effortlessly swung the large blade.

"By the Gods..." he said as he watched the boy swing the blade around like it was nothing.

"It's perfect," he said before he pulled out his scroll and typed in a few commands. "I've just transferred payment into your account as thank you for all your hard work," Henry started to wave his hands.

"No, no I can't accept any payment from you. You saved my daughter and I owe you this, plus your mother-" Jaune only shook his head as he held up the blade.

"I believe in paying what people are owed," Henry was about to argue when he received a ping on his scroll as he opened the alert and then widened his eyes in shock at the large sum.

"B-but h-how do you?"

"let's just say I've made some smart investments that I have enough to fund my own gear."

In reality, he had earned most of his money through betting on the Griffball matches, thanks to his memory of every game he used to watch with his father. He stopped after he earned enough money to finance his arsenal, as he did not want to get an addiction to gambling when the world was in danger.

"I-I this is...thank you," Jaune only shook his head as he strapped on the harness for the blade, placed it on his back and grabbed the weapons case as he began to leave.

"No thank you, for giving me the tools I need..."

He left the forge as a loud cheer could be heard inside that caused Jaune to smile as he made his way home. While Jaune walked home he began to ponder on the current progress he had made over the past nine years and only hoped it would be enough to prevent what was to come.

So far he had retrained his body to handle a substantial amount of his new aura reserves, learned better control over his aura, learned how to hack computer systems to prevent the Atlesian Knights from turning on them and had the weapons needed to fight off anyone that stood in his path.

Now all he needed was to head over to Mistral, get the fake transcripts to get into Beacon, and then make his way on the next airship to Vale. But one thing kept nagging at the back of his mind...

Was it enough?

He had seventeen years to plan out the Beacon Invasion, knowing every event that would happen and how to prevent it. He knew when and where he needed to be and what actions he needed to take. But he also knew that once he started to interfere with the Beacon invasion, his knowledge of the future would become obsolete. Salem would then have forged new plans and sent more agents to do her will.

Not to mention anything different could happen once he started interfering with certain events. Stopping one death here could cause another death somewhere else. Someone who could have prevented a tragedy elsewhere or maybe even loved one he had not taken into account.

So many possibilities and variables running through his head as he slowly began to fear the possibility of failing all over again.

Then remembered why he was here, why he was back in the past to before everything fell. He was given a second chance, and he was not going to waste it fearing over the smallest details. "One step at a time, for now, I need to get to Beacon and initiate the plan," he said as he opened the door to the tavern.

Suddenly a blinding light hit him as he was blinded for a brief moment and he soon saw something that stunned him.

"Happy Birthday Jaune!" everyone in the tavern shouted as streams and ribbons were thrown in the air and small crackers went off. Jaune stared in confusion until he remembered something important.

' _That's right, today is my birthday, I had one a week before I left for Beacon. It was because of that I was legally allowed to go without my parent consent...cannot believe I forgot my own birthday. Seventeen years since I came back,'_ he thought to himself as he smiled.

"Whoa, oh man I must have really forgotten this time, huh?" he said as his family and friends laughed or chuckled at him.

"Henry called ahead and let us know you were coming, now come on 'birthday boy' time to celebrate," Diana said as she walked over to her son and lead him to a large birthday cake. The cake was pretty simple, chocolate fudge cake with seventeen candles placed in the letter J as Jaune chuckled slightly at the number.

' _Technically I'm Forty-Four years old, but hey, when does anyone celebrate their seventeenth birthday again?_ ' he thought to himself as his family and friends began to sing to him. He looked around at each face before them, as memories of the future slowly passed his mind. Each one a barren cross on fresh mound appeared before him, as the setting sun darkened the town behind them.

' _This time, I'm not going to let that happen...'_ he clenched his fist under the table as a determined look sparked in his eyes.

' _I'm going to stop her'_

"Ok Jaune, time to blow out the candles and make a wish!" Bleu said as Jaune snapped back into focus and looked at the candles.

' _Whishes huh? If I weren't a time traveller I'd think it's superstitious nonsense...but maybe...'_ he took a deep breath as he blew out the candles. ' _I wish, that I can protect everyone...no matter what'_

* * *

Hours Later

* * *

Hours into the party people were starting to relax more as they talked about Jaune's youth or some embarrassing things in his childhood. But instead of being embarrassed, Jaune embraced the stories and relished in the moments of having friends and family.

He received multiple presents from his friends and family that ranged from books, games and training equipment that he would find useful later on. None more so then a belt of throwing knives that Jaune would take with him.

Soon it was time for everyone to head home, as Jaune sat on the sofa in the pub and watched the wood crackling in the fireplace. He stared into the flames as he prepared himself for what he had to tell his parents, that he needed to go to Mistral, get the fake papers and make his way into Beacon.

He just hoped they would understand why he had to leave and not try to talk him out of it like the last time.

"Jaune," he looked up as his father stood behind him. "Come with me, I have something I want to give you," he said as Jaune looked confused and followed his father.

He soon followed him to the secret passageway that leads down into the archives. He wondered what it was that his father wanted to show him as he was led further down into the secret room under the Tavern. Roland sparked the fire in the fireplace, as Jaune briefly remembered being here as a baby, with Ozpin and him talking about the Maidens.

The man stood before the fireplace as he leant against the bricks that made up its structure.

"Jaune...As you know I never wanted you to choose this life, to become a huntsman and put your life on the line to protect the people. Part of the reason was that I didn't want to expose you to that kind of life...but mostly it was because of what happened to my family many years ago" he said as he hung his head and stared at the flames.

"Thirty-seven years ago our family was once the most powerful and well-respected huntsmen clan in all of Vale. We believed ourselves untouchable, invincible even, thinking no one could stop us. Until we lost everything...my mother and all of my siblings were lost to the Grimm. Your Grandfather and I were the only ones to survive...though he was never the same again."

Jaune remembered the few times his Grandfather visited him, both in this timeline and the previous, and always wondered why the man had a sad look in his eyes. It wasn't until everything fell that he understood why he was the way he was. He had seen the death of his whole family - save for his only remaining son. Anyone who didn't feel remorse was not human.

"But every day I feared that the same thing would happen if I allowed any of my children to go down that path...But I know now that I wasn't protecting you by keeping you from your dream...I was protecting myself like a coward. Father was right...I made a mistake," Jaune stared at his father as he shook his head.

"No! Dad, you're not a coward! You were just protecting your family, I understand-!" he stopped as his father raised his hand.

"But that attack nine years ago made me realise something. No matter what I do there's always going to be dangerous times and there's always going to pain. There's nothing I can do to stop it...that's the kind of world we live in. That's the world your grandfather tried to teach me." He turned around as he faced his son.

"What I can do now is prepare you for it. I've trained you to the best of my abilities, but your mother and I have talked about it and we've realized that we've done all we can to help you. And there is only one place that can continue from where we left off..." he reached into his pocket as he pulled out a letter and handed it to his son.

"That's why we've enrolled you at Beacon Academy. Congratulations son."

Jaune stared in shock as he looked at his father and the letter bearing the official symbol of the Beacon. His hands trembled slightly as he read the letter over and over telling him how they were grateful to have him enrolled at their school. It was an unexpected turn of events, even for him.

"H-How did you?"

Roland smirked as he crossed his arms. "I have an old friend back at Beacon. In return for a favour, I asked him to let you attend the initiation exam. It's no guarantee that you'll get in, but it's a chance at least and that's all I can do. Now it's up to you if make it in or not?"

"Dad...why are you doing this for me?" Roland looked at him as he smiled softly and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"...It has been your dream to be a hunter ever since you were a child and as your parents, we should have been supporting your dream, not trying to stop it, no matter how dangerous it could be. But know that whatever path you choose in life, remember that we'll always be proud of you..." Jaune stared at him for what seemed like forever before he grasped his father in a hug that stunned the man but returned it nonetheless.

"Thanks, dad...I promise I won't let you down..." he looked at his hand from behind his father back as he clenched it tightly.

"That reminds me, I have another gift to give you," he said as he walked over to the back of the room. "Seeing as you are going to my old Academy, I figured I'd give you something from my time..." he said as he opened a hidden panel in the wall and pressed a button.

The wall started to open up as Jaune was stunned to find another secret hidden in the archives. But instead of another room, the door revealed a mannequin that was equipped with a set of armour.

The armour composed of a black long sleeve jacket with a hood. It also consisted of a white metal chest piece with a golden edge that covered the user's chest, part of the stomach and back. The left arm had a large pauldron protecting the left shoulder with multiple lames running down the entire left arm with the symbol of the Arc crest branded in gold on the pauldron. It also had a pair of brown leather boots with white metal shin guards and a pair of white metal arm guards with the brown fingerless gloves.

It was completely different from the armour he had bought back in Mistral's seeder markets when he left for Beacon and stronger looking than the armour he had in Anima.

It looked...perfect.

"Dad...why are giving me this?" he asked as he hummed slightly.

"Well, seeing as you are using my fighting style now, I figured I'd give you my old armour. It's strong, light and should hold up against anything you come across. It's a family heirloom that belonged to my father and his father before him. Figured it would only be appropriate to pass it on to you..." Jaune could feel a small tear come to his eyes before he brushed it away and nodded.

"Thanks, dad, I promise I'll take care of it...actually can I ask for one more thing?" Roland raised an eyebrow at this.

"What is it?"

"Would it be all right if I take Crocea with me?" he said, as he looked over to the resting place of the sword in its white sheath.

"That old thing? Don't you already have a new sword?" he said as he remembered the new greatsword 'Retribution' that Henry had forged for him.

"Yeah, but I feel like I need to take out of here. Besides..." he looked over at the light from the fire cast a glow upon the blade. "I have an appreciation for the classics," he said as he smiled at the blade.

* * *

Shadows and mist covered the floor as Jaune wandered aimlessly amongst strange void, his heart beating rapidly in his chest as he scanned the seemingly empty void around him.

Suddenly he felt a crunch beneath his feet as his eyes widened in horror as the floor was covered in human skulls.

The mist rapidly departed as the sight of Beacon burning to the ground stood before him. The Grimm were running around everywhere killing anyone that stood in their path as students and civilians cried out in pain. but before could do anything - a bright light shined from the tower - as he looked up to see the faces of all his enemies standing on broken pillars.

Mercury, Emerald, Roman, Neo, Cinder, Tyrian, Hazel, Watts, Adam, Salem and finally the Grimm King as its massive draconic form circled around the tower. But the sight that sent terror to his soul was the sight of Pyrrha as she was kneeling before Cinder, just as she did years ago.

"NO!" he yelled as he tried to run towards her, only for a skeletal hand to grab his foot as he looked down to the skeletal remains of Ruby as she glared with glowing silver eyes.

 **You _can't_ stop it...**

He tried to shake her off and not harm her, only for another hand to grab him and pull him to the ground. The remains of Ren stared back at him as Nora grabbed his other leg.

 **You _can't_ change it...**

He tried to break free, only for their iron grip to drag him into the floor of skulls. He looked back as Cinder smirked and drew back her bow, Pyrrha's beaten face staring back as the arrow glinted in the light.

 **You _can't_ save _them_...**

He reached out as more of his friend's remains pulled him into the depths, his hand just breaking free from their grasp only for them to grab his head as they dragged him deeper into the skulls.

 **You _can't_ save _her_... **

Salem raised her hand as Jaune glared into red eyes. The skulls just covering his whole body as only a part of his face glared back into manipulative eyes.

 **You _will_ fail...**

She smirked and signalled Cinder to release her arrow...

 **And they _will_ die**

and struck her chest as she gasped in pain before bursting into ash.

* * *

"AH!" he sprung forth and grabbed Crocea at the edge of his bed and pointed into the dark room of his rented motel room.

The lights of traffic passing by his window briefly illuminated him as a cold sweat could be seen dripping down his face and his exposed chest as his eyes scanned the room for any sign of Cinder and her master. But alas none were there as he slowly relaxed his body and placed Crocea back on the edge of his bed.

He walked over to the small bathroom as he splashed some water on his face and washed away the fatigue that was on him. For the past week, he had begun having nightmares, a form of Post Traumatic Stress that didn't start affecting him until after the Enhanced Ursa nine years ago.

They were small at first, bad dreams that he easily hid from his parents. But as he drew closer to the time he would leave for Beacon they became more graphical and more heart wrenching with each dream he had. Luckily he knew mental techniques that would suppress them for a time from a teacher he found in Vacuo a year after Pyrrha's death.

Yet not even the strongest mental techniques could hold back the nightmares that plagued him; only closure could heal his wounds. And now he had the chance to do so...

By wiping Salem and all her allies off the face of the earth.

He looked up as he stared into the mirror, still not use to seeing the young face that greeted him each day. While his face looked young his eyes told a different story, one of pain, suffering and loss. The eyes of a warrior who had seen so much lost and felt so much pain; death was the only thing that offered him release.

Now he had a second chance to right the wrongs of his past and change the future not only for himself but also for _everyone_ in Remnant.

He looked at the clock as he realised that he still had a few hours before he needed to get to Beacon. But seeing as he couldn't fall back to sleep, he sat on the lone chair in the room and began sharpening Retributions edge.

Ready to begin his personal war against Salem and the Grimm King...with only them being the casualties.

* * *

A Few Hours Later, Beacon Airship

* * *

The city of Vale, the last time Jaune had been here it was nothing but a pile of rubble and destruction. The Grimm King had claimed Beacon as its throne as he had rested upon the ruins of the once shining school. To see it undamaged and brimming with life, it made him a little anxious. All around him were familiar faces of those whose lives had been tragically cut short but Salem and her army.

Honestly, it made him want to puke his guts out.

' _No, I'm not going to be called Vomit Boy this time, pull yourself together and focus on your aura,'_ Jaune said as he slowly breathed in and out to calm his nerves.

He adjusted one of the straps on the armour his father gave him, as Retribution rested on his back in the harness equipped with throwing knives on his chest. Judgment and Executioner were strapped to his thighs while Retaliation was placed on the back of his waist. And for those who wondered where Crocea was - it stored in a compartment inside Retribution - where it would serve a different purpose that Jaune had designed in Retribution.

But we'll get on to that later.

He looked up as the school came into sight; its magnificent structure almost seemed to shine to the new arrivals as they gathered by the window in awe. But all Jaune saw was where all of it had begun, the lying, the deceit and the deaths of all his friends. But he chose not to focus on that and instead focus on passing the exam and forming Team JNPR ounce again to face Salem, this time with all its members alive and well.

The ship soon landed as students piled as eager faces looked around in awe at the school. While Jaune only looked at the ground hesitantly from the bottom of the ramp, before he placed one foot forward and looked towards the school.

Instantly he was brought back to his final days as the Grimm King towered over him. The roar of the beast echoing in his mind as the sounds of fighting echoed in his ears. But he shook his head as he smirked up at the sky.

"Not this time you beast...I'll be ready...and this we'll win," a small bird flew into the sun almost symbolically as it gave Jaune hope. "Huh, I feel like I'm forgetting something?"

BOOM!

 _"Unbelievable! This is **exactly** the kind of thing I was talking about!" _

_"I am_ really _, really sorry!"_

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that..." he turned around and almost felt his heart explode in his chest as he saw the faces of those he had long lost.

Standing in what appeared to be a small crater were two girls, one of them was dressed primarily in light blue, white, and some red. She wore a pale blue bolero jacket over a similarly coloured thigh-length dress with a piece of black lace making up the neckline of the dress. The inside of the bolero is red and the sleeves turn blue, as they get closer to her wrists. The back of the bolero displays the Schnee Crest, which bears a resemblance to a snowflake.

The other was dressed in a black blouse, a black waist cincher with red lacing and a skirt with red trimmings completed by a red, hooded cloak.

No sooner did another girl appeared dressed black low-heeled boots and stockings that start off black at her hips, but gradually fade to purple as they near her shoes. On the outside of her stockings, there are white emblems that are most likely belladonna flowers. She wore black ribbons on both of her arms, with a black detached sleeve and a silver band on her left arm.

Memoires passed by as four girls stood side by side as they faced off against an overwhelming number of monsters. Each one with brave faces as they charge into the hoard.

"Ruby...Weiss...Blake...Yang" he muttered as he watched them from a distance. He gripped his fist tight as he kept his emotions in check. Memories of him holding a dying but smiling Rose passed in his mind as he gripped his fist tighter.

"I'm not going to let it happen again..." and just like the original timeline, Weiss left in a huff while Blake had snuck away, leaving Ruby to fall on the ground and moaned slightly.

' _And there's my queue'_ he said as he walked over.

Ruby Rose looked up at the sky as she sighed, "Welcome to Beacon" she said as she felt alone in the new school. Suddenly a shadow blocked out the sun as she looked up to see someone standing over her, a hand outstretched as he smiled down at her.

"Hey, I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc," he said as she grasped his own and he pulled her to her feet.

"Ruby, Ruby Rose," she said as Jaune smiled and then looked at the crater.

"Did you seriously just blow up?" this caused the girl to blush and laughed nervously.

* * *

A little while later Jaune was walking alongside Ruby as they admired the scenic views that Beacon had to show. While Ruby just to justify the explosion that accorded at the front of the school.

"It wasn't my fault! She was waving the dust around, yelling at me, then I sneezed and she blamed me for it! Can you believe her?" Jaune only chuckled.

"Yeah, when you look back, she was kind of asking for it. I mean who stores dust in a corked phial anymore? At least I won't have to call you Crater Face huh?" he said as Ruby brightened up.

"Exactly! So it wasn't my fault. I just hope I never have to run into her again," she said as Jane chuckled internally at the irony of that.

"I don't know, you might be surprised at what the world has in store for you. She may even be your best friend one day?" Ruby looked at him in disbelief.

"Please don't joke about that,"

"So who was that girl before? The blond one that disappeared in the group?" he asked as Ruby waved her hand.

"Oh, that was my sister Yang, she left me to hang out with some friends she knew from Signal. I can't believe she would just leave me like that! What was the point?" she said as Jaune shrugged.

"Maybe she wanted you to make new friends?"

"Really, and how does that work? Because so far I don't see how her leaving me alone can help me make new friends," she said as Jaune smiled.

"You met me, right? Aren't I a friend?" he said as she stopped and looked at him.

"Really? You'd be my friend?" she said with a hopeful tone in her voice, to which he just nodded.

"My mum always said that 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet,' or something like that?" he said as he placed his hands on his hips.

'... _Or in my case, friends I've already met...'_

Ruby blushed slight and twiddled her fingers together. A comfortable silence washed over them both as neither of them knew what to say, but really Jaune was just waiting for her to say-

"So~ I have this," she said as ash drew Crescent Rose from his back and deployed the large Scythe and impaled it into the ground.

Predictable, thy name is Ruby Rose.

He had a brief flashback to him using the large weapon against the Grimm King - He remembered when the Scythe snapped in two and he impaled the broken fragment into the Grimm King's eye as the beast roared in pain. He let out a low whistle as he looked over the blade.

"A High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe - a hybrid between a scythe and a sniper rifle I assume?" he asked as Ruby's eye became stars.

"Yes! How did you guess that!?"

"Well, let's just say I know a bit of a weapon's when it comes to stuff like this. I haven't seen this in any catalogues, did you make this?" Ruby bobbed her head up and down rapidly.

"Yep! I made this when I was at Signal Academy, though I think I may have gone overboard when I designed it"

"Nah, I think it suits you. How do you deal with the recoil, though?"

"I don't, I just use it to my advantage. So what about you, what's your weapon?" she asked as she spied the handle poking out of his shoulder. Jaune smirked slightly as he withdrew the blade from his back and impaled it in front of the ground.

"Ruby Rose, allow me to introduce Retribution," he said as Ruby went full weapon mode over the massive sword.

"Whoa! A great sword with a rotation dust-chamber mechanism! Does this mean you can coat the blade with a dust element?" she asked as he nodded and she squealed slightly. "What's the metal made of? How much does it weight? Can it transform? What else does it do?!" she said in full weapon fangirl mode.

"Well that..." her eyes widened even further in anticipation, "is a secret" and then fell face first into the ground.

"What! No fair! I showed you what my weapon can do!" she accused the boy as Jaune only smirked.

"And I never asked you to," she only huffed and crossed her arms in that cute little pout she would do.

"Meanie," she muttered as Jaune chuckled at her.

He missed this version of Ruby - the version that was innocent and full of optimistic ideas. Until she would face the harsh realities of the world and become disillusioned with the fairytales she grew up with. He just hoped that his plan would keep her innocents alive for a little while longer.

"Hey um...Do you know where we are going?"

' _Oh right, Ozpin's speech, can't miss that,'_ he thought to himself as he then pointed towards the large building.

"The atrium should be that way, we need to head there for the Introduction Ceremony," he said as Ruby looked amazed.

"Wow, how'd you know that?" she asked as Jaune smiled and came up with an excuse.

"My dad came here when he was my age, he told me the layout of the school and where the ceremony would most likely be held. Now come on we don't want to be late, right?" he said as Ruby gasped.

"Holy smokes you're right! What are we waiting for!" she said as she grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the atrium.

* * *

They soon arrived at the large atrium as row upon row of hopeful huntsmen and huntswomen in training stood in attention as they waited for the introduction ceremony to begin. Jaune looked around at the man faces as he narrowed his eyes at their eagerness and willingness to become huntsmen. Never knowing the full danger that was to come.

"Ruby!" a voice called out as the pair turned to see a blond haired girl waving to her. "Over here! I saved you a spot!" she yelled as she gestured her to come over.

"Oh, there is my sister! I'll see you after the ceremony ok?" she said as Jaune nodded and allowed her to walk over to her sister.

"See you, Ruby," he said as she was then gone. He then sighed as he looked at the faces and instantly picked out the people he remembered fondly.

There were Ruby and Yang, with Yang saying something to Ruby that seemed to make her blush, there was Weiss stalking up behind her and Blake that stood at the far right of the room, away from prying eyes. He saw Ren and Nora as Nora bounced on the heels of her feet, while Ren was trying to stay awake - no doubt Nora had kept him up the previous night like she always did.

He even saw Cardin and his future team as they stood side by side near the front of the stage. But he noticed that he couldn't see Pyrrha anywhere amongst the crowd.

' _Did she even come this time? I haven't bothered to watch her matches because I know she'll win. But I never did see her in the original timeline at this point, did I change something else in this timeline? Maybe I should try and sense her aura, see if she made it or not...'_ he then looked down as he felt a small pang of hurt in his chest.

' _But am I ready to face her? The last time I saw here, she kissed me and went off to fight Cinder during the invasion...can I really face her and not be reminded of that moment?'_ he clenched his fist as he calmed his panicking nerves.

' _I'm going to have to face her eventually, I need to make sure she's my partner and stop her from going to face Cinder alone...I won't let her die again'_ he closed his eyes as he focused his aura on all of his senses and opened his mind to his sixth sense.

Immediately the room around him darkened in his mind, as the glowing lights of all those who had their aura awakened flicked like little flames. He could instantly tell whose aura belonged to whom as it shrouded their forms, each with a distinct trait akin to their personality. Ren and Nora, Ruby and Yang, Weiss and Blake glowed and moved to their own personalities.

' _Come on where is she...'_

He reached out to find her aura, looking for that familiar shade of red that haunted his nightmares and soothed his dreams. His eyes then widened as he finally found her aura signature that was directly behind him. But there was something different about it. It was almost exactly like his...

Older and far larger then it should be.

' _I-it can't be...'_ he thought as he slowly turned his around, expecting to see the girl he remembered from the first day he met her.

Instead what he saw was something completely different.

There stood Pyrrha Nikos, her armour drastically changed as she had protection covering her chest with a green emerald over the spot where Cinder had shot her. Both her left and right arm had more armour plating, as there was no longer any skin exposed. She wore the same bronze metal across her body - but instead of a short red skirt, it was replaced with a series of leather straps in a skirt fashion and black skintight pants - with leather armour stitched into the fabric.

Her weapons looked almost the same but seemed to be made of a stronger material and completely brand new. She even still had her crown that she used to wear resting on her forehead. But the most drastic thing about her change, was the fact that she had cut her long crimson like hair short, that it now just barely reached her shoulders with a small braid on the right side of her face.

The small metal band at the end of the braid had a small, almost hidden, symbol of two crescent arcs.

He was too stunned to move as familiar emerald green eyes stared into his own sapphire blue, as they both seemed to be lost in their own space and time. His heart beating rapidly in his chest as he felt his heart about to explode in his chest. And that was when they said something that threw their whole world upside down.

"J-Jaune?"

"P-Pyrrha?"

* * *

 **And scene. Well here is chapter IV of Restart. Jaune and Pyrrha have been reunited, two souls lost to each through time, now together in the same place. The place that forged their bonds and shattered their dreams, unaware of what fate has in store for them.**

 **Just to let you guys know I will not, I repeat no, be changing the teams they are staying strictly canon. They just to me, work better that way. But now, how will Jaune react to seeing Pyrrha again, the same he had lost over twenty-seven years ago?**

 **Find out next time in Chapter V: The Girl Who Died and Lived Again.**

 **Bio: the current stats for the Jaune of Restart**

 **Name: Jaune Miles Luna Arc**

 **Age: 17 (New Timeline), 44 (Alternate Timeline)**

 **Skills:**

 **Sword-mastery – S**

 **Gun mastery – B**

 **Weapon mastery – A**

 **Tech skills – B+**

 **Aura levels – SSS**

 **Aura Control – A**

 **Intelligence – S**

 **Weapon Design – B + (Requires expert opinion for final projects)**

 **Speed – A+ (Without aura) – SS (With Aura)**

 **Strength – S (Without Aura) – SS (With Aura)**

 **Weapons: Crocea Mors, Retribution, Judgment, Retaliation and Executioner**

 **Semblance: Unknown**

 **Abilities: Higher regeneration abilities due to larger reserves of Aura, keen observation skills along with seventeen years of combined combat experience. A unique sixth sense of surroundings and unique ability to create plans on the fly. He also has experimented with aura to create new techniques combined with his semblance and dust.**

 **A/N (because I'm Australian Jaune's sword is roughly 5ft in length, 11 inches in width and 3 inches thick)**


	5. Chapter V: The Girl Who Died and Lived

RWBY: Restart

When the world is destroyed and all that he has known is taken from. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future...just not the way he expected.

* * *

Chapter V: The Girl Who Died and Lived Again

* * *

Students from all over Remnant gathered together in the large Atrium of Beacon Academy as their minds were buzzing with excitement and questions on what it would be like to attend such a prestigious school. Like what it would be like to learn from esteemed Huntsman and Huntresses? And what it would feel like to graduate from such a prestigious academy? This was what drifted through their minds...

However, for two individuals, their minds were the furthest from any of that. What they wanted to know was this.

 _"How is this possible?"_

Jaune stared at Pyrrha as his heart hammered in his chest, while Pyrrha was just as stunned as him, as they stared at their scared and confused faces.

' _S-she know me?! H-how can she know me?! She shouldn't know me! She's never met me! Her aura shouldn't be older! Her armour shouldn't be different! Her hair shouldn't be short! How!?'_

"J-Jaune..." he jumped slightly as spoke to him. "Is-is that, you are alive? B-but I thought you-" she said as she reached out a hesitant hand towards him, only for him to step back slightly. "Are you really Jaune...are you _my_ Jaune?" she asked as he only stared at her.

"W-What? This is, H-How is? How is this? Pyrrha?" he asked with a shaky voice as, a single tear formed in her eye as she quickly wiped it away. "Are you...are you really?" The lights suddenly dimmed, as Jaune and Pyrrha instantly knew that meant Ozpin was about to give his speech.

"We'll talk about this later, and we will be talking about this," a demanding tone in his voice that caused her to flinch slightly. "Meet me on the roof when the lights are out and _if_ you are the Pyrrha I knew... then you know the one." He said as she stared at him before nodding.

He then left to take his place just behind Ruby and the others, just as Ozpin began his speech. But Jaune was somewhere else as he was too busy processing what he had just discovered that he completely ignored Ozpin, Weiss's comment and his original introduction to the trio. All he really cared about was this...

' _What the hell is going on here?'_

* * *

Beacon Hall, Two Hours Later

* * *

Ruby Rose began to write in her journal after she and the rest of the hopeful students were directed to the large ballroom where they would be sleeping for the night. She was just about to finish the letter to her old friends when she felt something land beside her.

"It's like one big slumber party," Yang said as she landed next to her sister.

"I don't think dad would approve of all the boys?" Ruby said as she gestured to the boys as they flexed their muscles.

"I know I do, meow!" she said as she spied all of the boys.

Her gaze then fell to a blond haired boy walking by as he was dressed in simple black sweatpants and a dark blue shirt. What had caught her attention, however, was the way the shirt clung to his body. Exposing his muscular frame that seemed almost made of iron, while not the size of a bodybuilder, the lean muscular frame the boy did have radiated with strength as Yang watched as each muscular fibre moved beneath his skin and shirt.

Yang liked, Yang definitely like...

"Meow~," she said as she spied the blond haired boy walking over to a dark sleeping bag at the end of the room as he rummaged through a backpack. "Wouldn't mind getting to know him a little better, I wonder who he is?" she said as Ruby turned to see what she was on about.

Her eyes then widened in recognition as she smiled. "Oh that's Jaune, the friend I was talking about," she said as she was about to wave over to him. "Jaune! Over-hurk!" she was cut off as Yang tackled her and placed a hand over her mouth.

"What! When did you meet a hot guy like that!" she interrogated the slightly frightened girl. "When did my cute little sister start seeing boys!" she hissed as Ruby blushed.

"W-What! No! Ew! Yang! I just met him today! After _you_ abandoned me at the front of the school!" she hissed back as he pressed her finger to Yang's nose. "He was really nice to me and he showed me how to get to the atrium," she said as Yang looked somewhat relieved.

"Oh, ok that's a relief..." she said as held a hand to her chest. she then looked over as a feral grin came over her face as she eyed the boy across the hall, "So~ his name is Jaune huh? Maybe I should go over and introduce myself," she said as she walked off to the boy.

"What? No! Wait! Yang!" Ruby hissed out as tried to grab her sister, but failed as she landed face first on the floor.

Jaune, however, was busy concentrating on what he would say at the meeting with Pyrrha that he failed to notice the blond walking up to him. So imagine his surprise when he looked up and came face-to-face with Yang's...'Weapons'

"Uh...hello, you're Yang right?"

Yang blinked for a second before nodding. "Uh...Yeah, How did you know?" she asked as Jaune was thankful for his many years alive, knowing how to keep a calm head and think of a clever excuse. He pointed to Ruby, who made a small eep and hid under her sleeping bag.

"I met your sister this morning, she told me about you after I helped her out. I'm Jaune, Jaune Ac by the way," he said as Yang chuckled and scratched the back of her head.

"Yeah, thanks for that, she can be a bit of a klutz when it comes to new things" he chuckled at this.

"I know, she kind of blew up in front of the school." they both shared a chuckle as Ruby blushed deeper under her sleeping bag.

"Yeah, anyway, thanks for helping my sister out. She's new here and she could really use more friends at this school" Jaune nodded as he leant against the wall.

"Well, I'll be happy to be her friend. But if it's all right I kind of want to be alone for a moment. Something... _important_ has just come up." A subtle glance to Pyrrha at the other end of the room and the strange feelings returned.

Yang smirked as she leant down over him. "What? Am I not important enough to talk to?" she asked as she tried appealing to the boy, only for him to just stare into her eyes.

"Not at all, this is just something I really need to take care of. Talk to you later ok?" he said as he went back to rummaging through his bag.

"O-ok, I'll...I'll see you later," she said as she turned around to head back to her sister. She paused for a moment, as she looked back at the boy, a serious look on his face as he continued to search for something in his bag.

She had never met anyone like him, normally men would be too distracted by her body to keep their mouths shut; it's how she was able to get information from Junior and his boys. Of course, she would beat them up afterwards, but that was beside the point. The entire time she was talking to the mysterious boy her sister met, he wasn't staring at her breasts as most boys or older would normally do. He was focused on a normal conversation...

' _...Who the heck is this guy?_ ' she thought as Jaune sat back against the wall and glared at the floor.

* * *

Across the hall

* * *

Weiss was busy reading over one of her advanced dust techniques as she pictured using them in battle, then wrote down notes into a personal book. She formulated and calculated the right amount of dust she would use, and how much of her aura she would need to activate the dust.

After finishing her research her ears managed to pick up two students discussing a rumour they had heard about the entrance exam's partnering system. Now Weiss never really liked to believe in rumours, especially those involving her family, but if they were to be true she knew she would need a partner who matched her skills.

Instantly her focus was diverted to Pyrrha Nikos as she spied her at the west wing of the hall, reading a small leather-bound book.

Before coming to Beacon, Weiss had done extensive research on Pyrrha Nikos, after her agent had announced earlier that week that she would be attending Beacon Academy instead of Haven Academy.

She had reviewed all of the girl's matches, and she noted that she had won every single match without her aura ever dropping into the yellow gauge. She had efficacy achieved a whole new record for the Mistral Regional Tournament. With all those skills and achievements she was instantly enthralled with the idea of being partners with the famous Pyrrha Nikos the 'Invincible Girl' and four-time champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament.

She could just imagine entering the class with Pyrrha Nikos by her side, the four-time champion helping her achieve her goal of becoming a famous and recognisable huntress in all of Remnant.

Although she was curious about the sudden change to her wardrobe for her final match in the Regional Tournament. Appearing before the crowd decked out in new armour and her infamously long red hair cut short with only a single braid on one side. But she didn't care about what she wore and only cared about being chosen as her partner at the entrance Exam tomorrow morning.

' _She's intelligent, highly experienced and possibly the strongest huntress of our age group. Of course, she would be a perfect partner. It would be best if I approach her tomorrow, I need to get some sleep, tomorrow will be a big day for me...'_ she closed her books, lay down in her inflatable mattress and fell asleep...

Or she would have if not for the sudden loud commotion taking place just across from her and she instantly goes up to deal with the issue.

Dealing with the girl that blew her up, some blond haired party girl and a quiet bow tie wearing girl who just wanted to read. And that was how Team RWBY first met, just as they did so long ago in another time...

But that was not important right now. Now was the time for truths, explanations...and reconcile

* * *

Two Hours Later, After Lights Out

* * *

Dark blue eyes quickly opened as Jaune sat up and scanned the room for any weary presences. Thankfully none were seen, as he noticed the lack of breathing coming from Pyrrha's bag. He instantly knew where she had gone as he carefully manipulated his bed to appear as if he still rested and silently snuck out of the room.

Carefully sneaking his way past the wandering staff of Beacon patrolling the halls, he quickly navigated himself up an all too familiar flight of stairs as he soon stopped at the door to the rooftop. His hand hovered hesitantly over the doorknob, as for the first time in so long...

He was afraid.

He was afraid of what he would learn on the other side of those doors. He was afraid to learn something that he had not foreseen and he was afraid of getting his hopes dashed away by a cruel joke of fate. But most of all out of all those scenarios...

He was afraid that the Pyrrha he met, was _not_ the Pyrrha he _remembered_.

To this day he still had no idea how he came back to the past and played off as a mercy from the Gods. But this new development, the fact that his partner who died over twenty-seven years ago was alive and travelled back to the past as well, he seriously began to wonder if it was some kind of trick from the enemy that had somehow gained knowledge of his past to use against him. But there was no other choice available.

He had to confront Pyrrha, or whoever she was, and demand the truth from her. No matter how painful it would be...

With a deep breath and steeled nerves, he grasped the handle and slowly pushed the door open, and for a moment was stunned at what he saw.

So long ago he would open these doors and be greeted by the back of his partner, she would be looking up at the moon as her long crimson hair would be fluttering slightly in the breeze. She then would then turn to him, smile that warm smile that would brighten his day and began to train him for all the skills he lacked.

To see her there standing in the same spot and looking at the same sky, but no longer the same long hair that he used to admire brought pain to his heart and grief to his soul.

The door closed quietly behind him as Pyrrha slowly turned to face him, her hands at her chest as they held a small leather book, holding it almost possessively as the two just stared at each other. Silence drifted between them as nothing but the small rustling of leaf in the wind could be heard amongst the rooftops.

For a time nothing happened as none of them could find the courage to speak until Jaune finally steeled his nerves and asked...

"Who are you?"

The Question that was so simple yet so complex at the same time, that an awkward silence drifted between them as neither of them had a straight answer. "You look like someone I knew a long time ago, despite the changes to you- _her_ appearance. But that can't be possible because she _died_ _twenty-seven years ago_ for me. But you said my name and I'm pretty sure you and I shouldn't have met, _not yet_ anyway."

"So, let me ask again... _who are you_ and _how_ do you know my name?" Pyrrha only looked down as he narrowed his eyes

She sighed as she returned her gaze back to him. "My name is Pyrrha Nikos, obviously you already know that. As for how I know you, we were partners together here at Beacon twenty-seven years ago. You and I met each other in the Emerald Forest tomorrow and become partners after I pinned you to a tree with Milo tomorrow morning. I even asked if there was any room on Team Jaune?" she said with a slight chuckle at the memory as Jaune narrowed his eyes.

But even he had a slight chuckle buried in his stoic gaze.

"For the next few months, we were apart of Team JNPR; a team consisting of us and two others - Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie." Jaune narrowed his eyes again as more of his past was retold to him. "Then you told me the truth about your transcripts and lack of any combat training. So I offered you my assistance...for which you turned down..."

Jaune looked away slightly at the memory of his stubbornness.

"But after your battle with the Ursa in the Forever Fall Forest, you came to ask me to train you and we spent every night up here honing your skills." She smiled softly as Jaune and Pyrrha saw a memory of two teenagers crossing swords and blocking shields.

Jaune shook his head from the nostalgic feeling as he turned back to her.

"Ok let's fast forward a bit. The Vytal Festival, after you- _Pyrrha_ was tricked into killing Penny. Ozpin took you down into a vault where he got you to sit in some kind of pod. What was the _purpose_ of it?" he asked as Pyrrha turned her head to the large tower.

"...Ozpin brought us down there so he could transfer the rest of the Fall Maiden's powers into me, hoping it would give us an advantage over the enemy." Her eyes then narrowed at the base of the tower. "But then that woman appeared and she stole it."

Memories of an arrow piercing the other pod flashed before them as the light from the Maiden shot out of the pod and into the woman. Jaune of the past running to face her, only to be knocked back by a simple wave of her hand.

"After she knocked you back, Ozpin ordered us to get back to Vale while he held her off. But he failed and we watched as she flew up to the top of the tower..." Jaune looked down as his hair shadowed his eyes and his hand curled into a fist.

"After we escaped...what did you-... _she_ do?"

He asked even as his heart beat faster in his chest and Pyrrha looked down slightly as if afraid of what she would say. "I...I _kissed_ you...and then I sent you away...before I died..." Jaune's body shook as nodded his head.

"Alright then...no doubt about it...you are the Pyrrha I knew," he said as she looked up to see his shaking form. "Which means I can finally do this..." she looked confused for a moment.

"Jaune, what are you-"

SLAP!

A loud slap echoed across the silent rooftops as Pyrrha felt a harsh slap across her face and dropped the book in her hands. Her cheek stung in pain as she looked back in shock at the boy as his hand was frozen in the air in the same place her face was moments ago.

"J-Jaune, why did you-"

"WHAT IN THE HELL WERE YOU _THINKING?!_ "

His sudden roar caused her to flinch, as she looked back scared of the boy who grabbed her shirt and glared into her eyes.

"How could you do something so incredibly _stupid!_ Going up against someone like that!? After what she did to Ozpin?! Didn't you care about your own life?! Didn't you think about how your death would affect me!? How could you do something so selfish!" he yelled as pure rage poured out of his form.

This time Pyrrha snapped out of her shock and grabbed his arms and pushed him away. "I was thinking about you Jaune! I had to get you somewhere safe! I couldn't afford to let her kill you too! I had to keep you alive!" Jaune shook his head as he glared into his eyes that caused her to stop.

"I didn't ask you to save me! I wanted you! Alive!" he yelled as tears streaked down his face. "How could you do that to me!? How could you kiss me and then send me away before I had a chance to tell you...to tell you that I loved you!" she gasped slightly as he let her go.

"Jaune..." was all she could say as he hung his head.

"Ever since the dance I had been thinking differently about you, thinking about all the times you cared for me and helped me when no one else would. Heck, not even Ruby helped me as much as you did. Even after the invasion..." he said as he curled his fists.

"And after a while, I began to realise how important you were to me. How I couldn't imagine my life without you. So I was going to tell that day and see if you felt the same way about me. But then you started talking about destiny and fate I didn't know how to respond? And before I knew it you were...you were..." he fell to his knees as he shook his head.

"How could you do that to me? How could leave me behind..."

Pyrrha stood there in shock as she looked at his broken form; his strong shoulders sagged in defeat and his aura radiated of sadness and anguish. She had never seen him so devastated, so broken in all her life that she couldn't bear to see him like this. Knowing that the worst thing of all...

Was that she was the cause of it.

She fell to her knees as she cupped his face in her hands and slowly lifted his head to face her. Tears streaking from both her eyes and down her cheeks as she looked into his teary eyes.

"Jaune, I'm sorry, I am so, so sorry...I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to make you feel like this. I just wanted you safe, to find new love and live a full life...I wanted you to _live_..." Jaune shook his head as he reached up and held her wrist.

"How could I possibly live, knowing how you felt about me in your final moments and never telling you mine?" he then held her cheek in his hand as he looked into her emerald green eyes.

"How could I possibly find love in another, when I failed yours?"

Her eyes became blurry with tears as she launched herself into his chest, the tears streaking down her face as she clutched herself to his chest. While Jaune faired no better as he held the one he lost in his arms. The two souls separated by time, reunited in a world not their own but vastly similar. But none of that mattered to them, all that mattered was that they were there and they were together.

After a time the tears finally stopped as they sat on the edge of the roof, Pyrrha sitting between his legs as Jaune held her close to his chest and leant against the wall. Each fearing that the other would disappear in a moment.

So they cherished this moment, for as long as they had.

"How is this possible? How can you be back as well? Did you get sent back the moment you died like I did?" Jaune asked as he rested his head on the nook of her neck. Pyrrha held his arm as she leant back into his chest.

"No, something else happened..." Jaune stirred slightly as Pyrrha grasped his arm. "After Cinder killed me, I was so certain I was going to die that I could feel my very soul leave my body. But then something strange happened to me and all I remember was everything turning black. Then I woke up..." she turned her head to look into his eyes.

"...Inside you" eyes widened as he looked at the back of her head.

"What? What do you mean _inside of me?_ How is that even possible?" he asked as Pyrrha closed her eyes.

"Do you remember when I unlocked your aura? When I stumbled back slightly and I told you I was ok?" again he nodded as he tried to piece together where she was going with this.

"As it turned out when I unlocked your aura with mine, yours took a small fragment of mine and kept it inside of you. That piece of my aura remained dormant inside you for months until I fought Cinder. When she destroyed my body, my soul and the rest of my aura was drawn to that fragment like a beacon, sealing me inside of you, where I remained dormant until you and the others went to Anima," Jaune stared with wide eyes as he slowly parted with her.

"You've...you've been inside my aura...since Anima?" she nodded slightly as she reached over and grabbed the leather book that she dropped and handed it to him.

"Longer than that..." Jaune looked at the small book as he grabbed it and allowed Pyrrha to move from his legs and sat opposite from him. He looked back at her before she nodded and he opened the book. His eyes then widened as he read the book and turned its pages.

"This...this is my journal, the one I wrote in the future," he said as he recognised all the words written on the pages. "Everything is here, just as I wrote it. The Geist in Anima, The Siege of Mistral, The Fall of the Fallen..." he flipped the pages until he came to the end, where he wrote his final passage and he looked up to see her sullen face.

"The Last Mission of JNPR...If you've been inside me this whole time, why didn't you try and contact me? Why didn't you let me know you were alive?" he said as he shook the book in his hand. "Why didn't you tell me!?"

"I tried to Jaune! Gods know how much I tried! But every time I tried my voice just couldn't reach you! Like I was being punished for leaving you!" she said as she shook her head. "I watched helplessly as you and the others fought against Salem's forces, watched as you tormented yourself with guilt and despair over my death for years that it tore my soul apart!" she held her chest as tears leaked down her face.

"I had to watch as you lost everything and everyone around you as slowly lost yourself in grief! There were so many days and so many nights that I wanted to comfort you, to stop you from continuing this suicidal mission that had plagued you! And when you went up against t-that beast! I prayed that I could finally reach out to you, and comfort you in your final moments!" a sob escaped her lips as she cried for his pain.

"But instead all I could do was watch as you bled away under that tree and begged me to wait for you...when the cruel joke was that I was with you the whole time!" Jaune lowered his head as he heard the torment she had endured.

"The next thing I knew, I was back in time, thinking that your death somehow sent me back. That you sacrificed yourself to give me a second chance, to change things for the better and erase all the mistakes..." she then looked up as she smiled softly with tears in her eyes. "But now...now I don't even know what's going on anymore?" Jaune sighed as she sat beside him again.

"You and me both..."

The two sat in silence as they let the knowledge of what they learned to sink in. They sat beneath the shattered moon that hung above their heads as they began to contemplate the meaning behind their purpose. Each one thinking that they had been given a chance to avenge the other, only to discover that they had both been given a second chance. None of it made any sense.

But for now, none of that mattered as they just relished in the knowledge that they were together again. Jaune looked at her as he pointed her short hair and smiled softly as he broke the silence.

"You cut your hair..." he said as he noticed the short length. "Which is really surprising, cause I really liked your old hairstyle, it was really beautiful," he said as Pyrrha blushed and stroked her short hair.

"W-well, I cut it more to signify my resolve to change the past, and to remind myself not to hold back my feelings for you anymore. That was the one mistake I never wanted to make again. I even planned on being more aggressive with my feelings for you, but now I kind of regret it...did you...did you like girls with long hair?" she asked with a slight blush.

This time it was Jaune's turn to blush as he scratched the back of his head. "Y-Yeah, but that doesn't mean I don't like it. In fact, I think you look great with short hair," he said as he then sighed dramatically, "I'm just really going to miss it, I never got to run my hands through it, shame really," Pyrrha released a small chuckle.

"You are such a dork," she said as Jaune chuckled as well. "But I missed that about you..." Jaune nodded as he held her close.

"Me too Pyrrha...me too..."

The two sat again in silence as the looked up at the moon until Pyrrha broke the silence. "So...what now?" she asked as she looked at him. "I'm guessing you have a plan stored in that head of yours?" she said as Jaune nodded.

"Yep, it's a pretty simple plan actually. Stop the invasion, stop them from stealing the rest of the Maidens power. Kill Cinder, kill Salem and stop the rise of the Grimm King...Simple." Pyrrha looked at him again as she raised an eyebrow.

"That simple?" he shrugged as he stood up.

"There's more to the plan I assure you, but I think it's best we head back to bed. The teachers are bound to notice we've left the hall eventually," he said as he got up. Pyrrha nodded as she got up off the floor with him and headed for the door.

But just as they made their way to the door, she stopped as she turned around and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. A surprising feat that made both time travellers blush deep red as Pyrrha then hurried down the stairway, leaving Jaune alone with his thoughts.

He placed a hand on his cheek as he remembered the same feeling he had years ago during the invasion, only this time there was no dread laced in afterwards, but rather a feeling of hope as he smiled softly.

"I think I'm going to like this new Pyrrha..."

* * *

Morning, Beacon Locker Room

* * *

Ruby Rose just watched as a strange boy and a strange orange haired girl walked past her and her sister, as they seemed to be discussing something about the sound a sloth makes. But she didn't really care about that, as she was just happy to finally be able to put her skills to the test.

"You look pretty hyped up since yesterday?" Yang said as she noticed her sister's more upbeat personality.

"You bet I am, no more awkward small talks, no more _getting to know your stuff._ Today is just going to be me and my baby doing all the talking," she drew Crescent Rose from her locker and stroked the gun-scythe in her hands.

Yang looked slightly concerned as she watched her sister hold her weapon possessively. She knew her sister was not the best at making friends, and often spent most of her time at Signal working on her weapon, which made her worry slightly about the possibility of her younger sister not making any new friends at Beacon, especially if she kept stroking her weapon possessively.

She even found her once bathing with the darn thing. She needed to remind her that she was not alone.

"Well remember Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you want to grow up, you have to meet new people and learn to work together," which only caused Ruby to groan.

"Argh! You sound just like dad! Okay, first of all: What does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly: I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink **milk**!" she said with pure confidence and unwavering determination as Yang shook her head.

"Well, what about when teams are formed? You are going to have to meet new people and be friends with them, right?" this got Ruby nervous as she fidgeted in her shoes.

"Well...maybe I can be on your team...or something," Ruby asked as Yang chuckled nervously.

"Well, you don't know that, I mean maybe you might be on someone else's team?" she said as the gods above laughed at the irony. Ruby had a cross look on her face as she glared up at her sister.

"My dear sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as _me?_ " she asked as she glared into lilac eyes.

"W-what! No! Of course, I do! I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell? Be on a team with some new friends like uh..." she then spotted Jaune as he fastened the straps on his armour. "Like Jaune! Hey Jaune!" she said as she pointed to the boy, who turned his head in response to his name.

"Hmm?" he said as he spotted Yang waving over to him, with Ruby suddenly waving her arms around trying to stop her sister.

' _Is Yang trying to call me over? She never did that in the original timeline, heck I don't think she even liked me after I vomited on her shoes back then?'_ He spared a glance over to Weiss and Pyrrha as Weiss was busy trying to get Pyrrha to join her team.

' _I should go over like I did in the original, but I can't risk causing a scene with Yang of all people if I ignore her. Sorry, Pyrrha, I'll be over as soon as I can,'_ he thought as he walked over to the pair, unaware of Pyrrha's gaze following his every move.

"Hey Yang, you called?" he asked as the blond girl nodded and placed an arm around her sister, who was attempting to hide in her hood.

"Yep, I need your help convincing Ruby here about the benefits of making new friends," she said as Ruby was blushing to her namesake while hiding herself within her hood. Jaune raised an eyebrow at this as he looked down at the petite rose.

"Yang is right you know, making new friends can be a good thing for you. I mean look at us, you already made friends with me didn't you?" he said as Ruby grumbled slightly.

"Yeah but, what if I'm on the same team as... _her_..." she said with a nervous glance to Weiss who was busy talking the ear off Pyrrha, who had not removed her glance from Jaune.

"Well then, you just have to try harder with her. Remember, 'Friends are just strangers you haven't met yet', so don't be afraid to make new friends. You might be pleasantly surprised. Besides, even if we aren't on the same team I'll still be your friend, I'll just be on a different team." Ruby smiled with a small blush on her face and nodded.

"You're right...thanks, Jaune," she said as Jaune ruffled the top of her head.

"Anytime Ruby, anytime..." he said as Pyrrha smiled from a distance, happy to see Jaune the way he used to be. Yang then grinned as she wrapped her arm around the boy's shoulder, something that instantly caught Pyrrha's ire.

"Way to go hot stuff, you worked out better than I expected," she said as Jaune looked at the girl in confusion.

' _Hot stuff, is she talking about me?'_ he thought as the girl pressed his arm against her chest, causing the time traveller to blush.

"Tell you what, I wouldn't mind being on a team with you. Maybe you can show me how you wield that sword on your back?" she gestured to the handle of Retribution as she tapped against its steel. Instantly there were small alerts going off in Jaune's head as Yang was dangerously close to his body. Her body leaning into him as found the sensation very confusing and conflicting.

 _'By the Gods! She is hitting on me! What the hell Yang!'_ he screamed into his mind, as far from them Pyrrha had finally snapped as she pushed past Weiss and marched over to the pair.

"Pyrrha?" she said as the four-time champion walked straight over to the boy.

"Jaune, there you are!" she said in a voice like she was greeting a long lost friend, which was partially true. "I haven't seen you since Mistral, how have you been?" she said as she stood in front of the three very confused individuals.

"Uh, Jaune, do you know this girl?" Yang asked as Jaune looked between her and Pyrrha as he wondered what Pyrrha was up to.

"Um, yeah! Pyrrha and I met a while back in Mistral, we met while my dad was buying supplies for our Tavern. How have you been...Pyrrha?" he asked with a confused voice as Pyrrha brimmed brightly at him.

"I've been good, though you should call me more often, we are _friends_ after all." She said while emphasizing the word friend as she smiled at the blond while Yang let go of his arm. "Oh, where are my manners. Hello, it's nice to me you!" she said as Yang raised an eyebrow at her.

"Uh...hi there, I'm Yang. And this is my little sister Ruby," she said as Ruby shook the girl's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Ruby. I'm Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos," she said as Ruby smiled at her.

"Thanks, it's really nice to meet you,"

"Likewise," she said as Jaune looked only confused at this sudden development.

' _Ok this never happened in the main timeline, what are you up to Pyrrha?_ ' he thought as Pyrrha sent Jaune a quick smirk that caused him, even more, confusion.

"Hold on just a minute here!" a loud voice said, as all four of them turned to see an angry white blur coming towards them.

"Oh no, she's back!" Ruby yelled as she instantly hid behind Jaune, who looked at the girl with a slight chuckle.

"What gives you three the right to talk to someone as important as _the Pyrrha Nikos!"_ she said as she pointed to Pyrrha, who mentally sighed at the girl. "And _you!"_ Jaune flinched slightly at her familiar icy gaze.

"How does some _country bumpkin_ like yourself know her anyway!?"

Jaune got a slight tick of anger at the girl as he could not stand arrogant people. He missed future Weiss, who was a lot nicer and more tolerant than her past self. But, Jaune knew that this was only a phase that it was only a matter of time until she changed her personality. So reined in his anger as he faced the girl and tried to come up with an excuse.

"Well see, the thing is-"

"Jaune and I met a while ago back in Mistral!" Pyrrha interrupted as got in between the two.

"I was wandering around Mistral after my third win and I happened to bump into Jaune. He was visiting with his father like he said, and I offered to show him around. We spent the day together and became friends afterwards until he had to head home, but we continued to talk with each other by sharing our contact info," she said as she came up with an excuse of how she knew Jaune.

When he thought about it, it wasn't that far of a stretch as Jaune's father normally did have to make a trip to Mistral in order to get new supplies for the Tavern and would often bring him along to see the massive city. Which then he would be allowed to wander the city until it was time to leave. So at least this way it wouldn't raise suspicion. But producing the contact info and the calls would be a bit harder to believe because neither of them had their contact info currently.

"Hm, that maybe, but you all shouldn't be conversing so casually with someone of Pyrrha's stature. She is after all the winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament, winning four times in a row, a whole new record!" she said Pyrrha cringed at the mention of her celebrity status. While the other two were impressed, Jaune, on the other hand, merely shrugged as he looked at Weiss.

"So? What does any of that have to do with anything?" he asked as the others turned to him.

"W-what! It has everything to do with it! She is the Pyrrha Nikos! She's far more qualified to be at this school than anyone else in this academy! Of course, it's important!" she said as Yang growled at her before Jaune put up his hand to stop her.

"Like I said, 'what does any of that have to do with anything?' because to be truthful, I don't really give a damn about that," he said as Weiss felt a blood vessel build up on her forehead.

"Besides," she stopped as Jaune smiled softly.

"I really don't think Pyrrha wants to be reminded of her celebrity life. I think she actually wanted to make a new start for herself, away from a life that's placed her on a pedestal that everyone thinks she's too important to talk to. All of us have one reason or another for being here, right?" he asked Weiss was silent thinking about her father back in Atlas.

"I also think, she just wants to be treated like a normal person. Not as Pyrrha Nikos _the_ _celebrity_ , but Pyrrha Nikos _the person_...I think she wants a friend, don't you?" he asked as he subtly looked over at Pyrrha as she smiled warmly at him, while subtly nodding to him.

' _He remembered...'_ she thought as Weiss had to look away from the embarrassment of treating her like that. Especially since part of the reason she came to Beacon was to get away from her father and his attention grabbing behaviour.

 **\- Would all first-year students please report to the Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to the Beacon Cliff immediately -**

Glynda's voice spoke over the speakers as all five of them looked up to the ceiling. "I guess that mean's its time. You guys ready?" he asked as they all nodded and headed straight for the doors. Ready to face the challenged that awaited them on the other side of those doors.

* * *

Five Minutes Later, Beacon Cliffs

* * *

Hopeful students stood at the edge of the cliffs as they looked out into the shimmering sea of green leaves that marked the Emerald Forest. The vast amount of trees and foliage brought a sense of awe and wonder to those who looked out upon it. But for Jaune, it only brought back memories, painful memories as he remembered the forests burnt to a crisp and riddled with Grimm of all sizes.

He remembered fighting his way through the skeletal trees and the ash covered dirt as he fought each and every Grimm that stood in his path, each one covering the floor with their blood as he carved his way to his final battle. He felt a small squeeze on his hand as he turned to see Pyrrha looking concerned.

"Are you ok?" she whispered away from the group as Ruby and Yang took their positions.

"Yeah, just an old memory from my previous life...The last time I was here, this whole place was burnt to the ground and I was fighting my way through a horde of beasts. That was the last day I was alive," Pyrrha nodded as she remembered.

"I know, I was with you," she said as he remembered the truth about her.

"Oh yeah, I guess you were..." he said as Ozpin and Glynda stood at the front of the group. "You ready partner?" he asked as she nodded.

"Always..." Ozpin's gaze shifted to Jaune as he smiled at the sight of Roland's son attending his academy.

' _So this is Rolands son, Jaune? He grew up quite a bit since the last time I saw him, looks promising.'_ He thought before he raised an eyebrow at Pyrrha placing her hand into his. ' _That's strange, such a deep sentiment for two strangers, have they met before?_ _Hm, curious...curious indeed,'_ he pondered before he shook his head and ordered the students to line up on the metal pads _._

"I'll see you in the forest," he said as she nodded and then went over to her spot. Jaune then turned his attention to teachers as he felt a wave of nostalgia at seeing the two professors, both of them alive and well as they stood before them before a memory of their deaths flashed before his eyes. But he pushed down the urge to hurl as he turned his attention to the two.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," he said as Glynda then spoke.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of 'teams'. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... **today** " she said as Ruby gasped at this.

"What? Ohhh..." she moaned while Jaune patted her shoulder sympathetically.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Another groan from Ruby as Jaune knew what was coming next that would make her explode. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years," And just like that, the world around Ruby Rose cracked as she yelled in shock.

 **"WHAT!"** she yelled as a few students down, Jaune could faintly pick up Nora's 'I told you so' to Ren.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way, so do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you **will** die" Ozpin said with a heavy amount of seriousness in his voice that made others stumble slightly. But for Jaune and Pyrrha, they didn't fear the prospect of death in the forest. For they had lived far worse and they had suffered for it.

What could possibly scare them after that?

Ozpin narrowed his eyes at the two before he turned his attention back to the group.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and we will grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" This time Jaune had nothing to say as he smirked slightly at the man, clutching his fist in anticipation.

"None...good, take your positions" And with that, each and every one of them stood on the square silver platforms, before one by one, the students were launched into the air.

' _This is it...'_ Jaune thought to himself as Nora and Ren were launched into the air. ' _This is the beginning of everything...'_ soon followed was Weiss and Cardin as they too were launched into the forest.

 _'This is where all my training comes together, all of my plans and all of my ambition. It starts here...'_ more students were launched as they sailed through the air.

' _But now..._ ' he spied over to Pyrrha as she sent a subtle nod towards him. _'I'm not alone, and this time...'_ She was launched into the air as Yang placed on her aviator glasses and was flung into the air. Ruby sent a comforting smile at him before she too was launched and he steeled himself for this.

' _I'm ready!'_

The pad beneath his feet sent him flying through the air, as the wind rushed past his form. His hair wiping wildly in the wind as he smirked and grabbed the hilt of Retribution and drawing the massive blade.

"Let's do this!"

However, what he was unaware was that from a fair distance, in the shade of the many trees in the forest. A dark shadow began to from beneath its branches as two blood red eyes glowed in the darkness before sinking into the earth. A dark chuckle echoing in the forest as all grew silent...

* * *

Omake: Pyrrha's Aggressive Plan

* * *

"Hey, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked as Pyrrha turned to him as they walked down the staircase.

"Yes Jaune?" she asked as she looked back at the boy.

"What did you mean before, when you said you would be more 'aggressive with your feelings' how would you do that?" he asked as Pyrrha stared blankly and her mind wandered off.

* * *

A week before coming to Vale, Pyrrha stood in the middle of a store as she was dressed in a large trench coat, big shades and a large hat on her head as she held up the item in her hand.

Her face blushing deep red as she held up the pair of rather sexy and erotic pair of underwear that she would have never worn in her previous life. But this was a different life, and she was going to do everything in her power to get him to notice her.

Even if she had to resort to such...aggressive tactics.

Steam slowly rolled off her head as she could barely imagine wearing something so...provocative. "Excuse me miss?" a store hand said as Pyrrha shrieked in fright. "Eek!" she shrieked as she quickly hid the garment behind her. "Do you need any assistance?"

"N-N-No! I'm good! Thank you very much!" she said, as she paid for the item and then run out the store at top speeds. Never having felt so embarrassed in all her life.

* * *

"Pyrrha?" Jaune said as he stared at her blushing red face. "Are you ok? your face looks a little warm?"

"I-I-I'm fine!" she shrieked and then rushed down the stairs. "I'm Sorry!" she yelled before leaving behind a confused Jaune as he stared at her dust trail.

"...Was it something I said?"

* * *

 **And scene, well here is Chapter V of Restart. Really surprised on how quickly I updated this story. Tell me what you thought of my first Omake, yay or nay if I should keep doing it. And if so can people send me their requests along with a review and I might put into the next chapter, only if it follows the story and plot of mine otherwise they won't make sense.**

 **Now that Jaune and Pyrrha have been united, what will happen as they try to prevent the future that is to come? Will they succeed or are they doomed to fail?**

 **Stay tuned for Chapter VI: Fight in the Emerald Forest**


	6. Chapter VI: Battle in the Emerald Forest

RWBY: Restart

When the world is destroyed and all that he has known is taken from. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future...just not the way he expected.

* * *

Chapter VI: Battle in the Emerald Forest

* * *

Rushing through the air Jaune quickly scanned the forest treetops as he watched each and every one of his friends begin to land in the vast forest. Ruby using her rifle's recoil to slow her descent. Ren slicing into the bark of the tree as he spun around the tall Oak and Weiss propelling herself lower to the ground as she summoned glyph after glyph to guide herself to the forest floor.

He even spied Yang as she propelled herself across the skies laughing like the thrill seeker she used to be...Another thing he wanted to protect from Salem's plan.

He returned his focus to the forest, as he instantly detected Pyrrha's presences as she smashed her way through a couple of trees, reducing them to splinters like before as she landed on the highest branch and peered through her scope.

Jaune instantly knew what she was about to do next as he shook his head while she spied him from a distance.

Pulling the large sword from his back, he twisted the handle as the circular dial shifted until a white cartridge was chosen. The cartridge injected a white form of dust into the chamber as the dust quickly spread itself across the fullers that marked the sword.

A pillar of Wind rapidly surrounded the blade, as he pointed to the forest and unleashed a large cyclone that rapidly slowed his descent to the ground, while also demolish a few trees on the way down. Just as he got lower to the ground, he quickly shut off the dust, sheathed his sword and braced himself he quickly tumbled on the ground before landing and pulling out his sidearm.

His eyes quickly scanning the forest around him, as his first instinct was to search for any sign of Grimm, lest they try and ambush him on arrival. Luckily like the original timeline, he landed in a relatively uninhabited section of the forest as he placed the gun back into its holster.

"So far so good, no sign of the enemy yet and it looks like I landed close to my original...spot..." he trailed off as he looked up to a tall tree and remembered hanging from the tree a long time ago. "Was I really that weak?" he asked himself before chuckled.

"Of course I was, why else would I have needed saving...but not this time...not anymore. In any case, I better find Pyrrha and head to the ruins, otherwise, I might be partnered up with someone else," Jaune closed his eyes as he opened his mind to his sixth sense.

Instantly the world was once again shrouded in black, as the faint outline of the forest became clear to him. Small flames of aura flickered in the distance as he instantly recognised his friends. But the one he was searching for was far larger and older than the others and was currently heading his way. He opened his eyes and turned his head to the left.

"Found you," he said as he turned around and began to head towards his future partner.

* * *

Meanwhile with Ruby

* * *

"Got to find Yang! Got to find Yang!" Ruby repeated like a mantra as she sprinted madly through the forest at blinding speeds. "YANG! WHERE ARE YOU!" she yelled as she ran into the forest.

' _Oh, this is bad, this is really bad...What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first?'_ she debated with herself as she continued running. _'Well, there's always Jaune. He's nice, super kind and he has that awesome weapon of his...that he still hasn't told me what it can do!'_ she yelled internally as she thought about the large weapon on the boys back.

' _Not only that, he helped me when my own sister left me to fend for myself, and he called me his friend...I could really use a friend as a partner,'_ she thought as she blushed at the thought, but then frowned slightly.

' _But he seemed to be really close to that Pyrrha girl, maybe he's already partner with her? She could be a good partner too, but my chance of running into her is pretty low...Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm, plus she likes books! Then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her...Ugh!_ _Who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, Pyrrha aaaand...'_

Time seemed to slow down as a white figure walked in front of her path.

She instantly slammed on the breaks as she skidded to a halt in front of the white-haired girl as Weiss and Ruby stared into each other's eyes. The whole forest seemed to go completely silent as Ruby was internally screaming to herself at the fact that she was now partnered with the last person she wanted to run into.

' _Crap baskets! Why did it have to be her!?'_ she thought as the Reaper and the Heiress stared at each other. Before she turned around and began to walk away from Ruby.

"H-Hey wait! Where are you going!?" she called out to the girl, only for Weiss to ignore her as she ventured deeper into the forest. "We're supposed to be partners..." she moaned as she was then left alone in the forest.

' _Great, the first person I met and it had to be 'Princess' of all people! Who to add insult to injury decided to just walk away from me! Even though we made eye contact!'_ sighing in defeat _,_ she sat down on the forest floor as hugged her knees to her chest.

"What was I thinking coming here two years ahead of my friends? Maybe I should just give up and go back to Signal. I mean what's the point if she doesn't even want to be my friend?" she asked herself as she was left alone in the forest.

"Try harder Ruby,"

Her eyes instantly, snapped open as she thought she heard the sound of Jaune's voice. "Jaune?" she looked around hoping to see him, but found nothing, as she was alone in the large forest. "What the?" she thought as she looked around again, "Try harder? What does that-!" her mind flashed back to earlier this morning as Jaune stood before her.

" _...Remember, 'Friends are just strangers you haven't met yet', so don't be afraid to make new friends. You might be pleasantly surprised..."_

She smiled at the memory as she placed a hand on her head, the same placed when Jaune had placed his comforting hand on her. When she was afraid of being partnered with someone she didn't know. But when she remembered those words, it brought her a small dash of courage. She gripped her fist as she looked back in the direction she went and marched straight forward.

Meanwhile, Weiss was pushing her way through the bushes as she tried to get as far away from the red wearing huntress as possible. "Unbelievable, of all the people I had to run into, it had to be that girl! I don't care what the Headmaster said, I am not being partners with her!" she said as she continued to venture into the forest.

"Weiss! Wait!" a voice said as she turned around to see Ruby running up to her. She scowled slightly as she continued to keep walking.

"Go away! I said I am not going to be partners with a kid!"

"Sorry Weiss, but I can't just let you just walk away like that!" she said defiantly as she used her semblance to get in front of her. Weiss stumbled back slightly as the Reaper stood before her.

"How did you?"

"Look, Weiss, I know you didn't want to be my partner and I would rather have _**anybody**_ else as my partner." Weiss cringed at that as the girl continued. "But like it or not we made eye contact, and that means we are partners," she said as she stood before the heiress.

"And even if you just continued to walk away it won't change the fact that we were partnered up. You heard what Ozpin said, they are monitoring us and I doubt they would give us a different partner because we beg them. If we want to make it to the other side of this forest, we have to work together. Look, you may think I am just a kid, but I am not, and I would really appreciate it if you stop treating me like one. So, let me prove to you that I can be a huntress!" she screamed before she blushed and became meek.

"...Please?"

Weiss just stared at her for a brief moment, before she moved past her and continued to walk through the forest. Ruby felt all hope was dashed away before she stopped and turned back to her. "This by no means, makes us friends," Ruby's smile brightened as she jumped with glee.

"Yippee! I promise I will not let you down Weiss!" she said as the girl only rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, just stay two feet behind me and follow my lead," Ruby nodded and followed her through the forest, happily skipping along as she made a new friend.

Meanwhile, above the pair, Jaune and Pyrrha silently smiled down as they watched the two from the treetops. "I was little worried there for a moment, glad they still ended up as partners...though not the original way?"

"Me too, and that was really nice of you to whisper that to her," she asked as Jaune smiled.

"In the future, I've seen that girl go up against bandits, Grimm, Psychopaths and even Salem herself without blinking an eyelash. She has a great strength to her, more than anyone can possibly imagine. I just gave her a little motivation," he said as they both landed on the forest floor. "Now come on, the temple is that way," he said as she nodded and followed him through the forest.

Originally Jaune and Pyrrha were meant to head to the Cavern where the Deathstalker lay sleeping, but seeing as Weiss and Ruby were heading in that direction they thought it would be best to give the girls some time to get to know each other. Plus Jaune didn't feel like making an idiot out of himself a second time.

Seriously, there were warning signs painted on the walls, how could he not pick up on that?

But now the pair were headed in the opposite direction, heading straight for them temple instead of the cave. It was another consequence of travelling back in time. Their interaction in the past caused changes to certain events that should have played out like the original.

While the two had tried their best to not alter too much of the timeline, their very presence had already altered the timeline, whether it was good or bad would have to be seen. But for now, they only hoped that the others would follow their original timelines and meet up at the temple.

What the pair didn't realise was from the corner of their eyes, a dark figure watched them as it slithered back into the shadows and trailed behind them.

After walking for a short while they heard the sounds of gunfire littering the air. "Well, sounds like our friends encountered some hostiles? Poor bastards," Jaune said as he and Pyrrha instantly recognised the sounds of Yang's explosive shells, but chose to word them carefully.

The forest had eyes and ears after all.

"We should keep moving, there is no telling what's in this forest?" he said as she nodded and they continued to walk through the forest.

"So, I can't help but notice that you use a heavy sword style? I would have assumed a person like you would be more of a sword and shield type?"

Pyrrha looked at the massive blade on his back as she decided to choose the right words to make it look like idle talk, But in actuality, she was having secret conversations about the alteration to the time stream. Something that Jaune instantly realised as he smirked at her smiling face.

' _No sword and shield this time, why the sudden change?'_

"Well, when I was training with my parents I discovered that my semblance was mostly defensive in nature, giving me a higher degree of protection than what most aura can provide. Knowing that, my father decided to teach me his style of heavy offensive, with a few sword and shield techniques here and there from my mother..." Jaune said as he patted the blade on his back.

' _My semblance is defensive, focused this time on attacking instead of defending. Crocea is inside the blade,'_

"So what about you? Must be interesting being a four-time champion of the Regional Tournament? I never really saw you matches, but it must be really different from having a normal life huh?" he asked, as the message to Pyrrha was clear.

' _Why did you become a champion again? Wouldn't you want to live life differently this time?_ '

She smiled softly as they travelled deeper into the forest, "Well, truthfully it was more to help my family than anything," she as Jaune raised his eyebrow.

"My family was not the wealthiest of people before I had unlocked my aura. My father was a former hunter before he was injured in a Grimm attack when I was twelve that forced him to retire, so money became pretty tight during my childhood. The endorsements I earned from my winnings helped secure my families finances. It was a way of thanking them, for bringing me into this world..." she smiled softly as she played with the small braid in her hair.

"That's very noble of you...your parents must be very proud?" he said learning something new about his partner that he didn't know.

"They are, and I am more than happy to do it again. But I will admit it does get lonely being placed on a pedestal, and I do long for times that I wasn't treated like the 'invincible girl' and just be a normal person, but I guess that wasn't meant for me..." she said as she smiled softly.

"But meeting you that day, and being treated as your friend, was one of the happiest days of my life. And if I had the _opportunity_ to change it, I wouldn't change a thing." Jaune shared a brief smile as he felt the urge to hug her. But he restrained himself, knew that the teachers were watching and couldn't afford to raise suspicious with them.

"We need to keep moving, the Grimm could attack us at any-" a growl caused the boy to spin around as they were suddenly surrounded by a large pack of Beowolves. "-Moment!" he drew Retribution from his back, as Pyrrha drew her weapons and placed herself back to back with Jaune. The beasts circled the pair as both sides took weary glances at their enemies.

"This didn't happen, we never encountered any Grimm other than the Deathstalker?" Pyrrha whispered as the beasts kept their distance.

"I think these are the Beowolves that Ruby and Weiss faced in the original timeline," he whispered back as he pointed his sword at the beasts. "We took their route so I guess we get their enemies..." a sudden thought hit the pair of them as they looked at each other.

"You don't think?"

* * *

Ruby and Weiss stared at the large cave as they looked at it and the markings on the entrance as they stared at them.

"Think this is it?" Ruby asked as Weiss instantly shook her head.

* * *

Back with Jaune and Pyrrha, the two turned back to their enemies as the beasts began to circle closer. "I don't think we have to worry about them, Weiss is smart enough not to do something reckless and I'm sure Ruby will listen to her...right?" Pyrrha said as Jaune chuckled.

"Let's hope so, but for now we got to take care of these things, and I've been itching to fight something for a while now," Jaune said as he raised his blade.

"You ready partner?" a small smirk told him her answer.

"Always"

The first of the beasts lunged at them, as Pyrrha jumped out of the way while Jaune merely ducked under its claws. He channelled aura into his muscles, combined it with the years of training and conditioning he had done to his body and easily swung the massive blade.

With intense speed and strength, the sword dug right under its shoulder and bisected the beast in two. It's dying roar echoed in the forest before Jaune spun around and cleaved two more with blinding speeds as severed limbs and bodies flew through the air.

Three more of the Grimm ran towards him as he drew his pistol from his thigh and unloaded several rounds at the beasts; each bullet forced them to guard themselves against the assault, only to be bisected as Jaune swung Retribution in a forward arc. Cutting the three beasts in half as he swung again and smashed another into the dirt.

Pyrrha blocked an incoming attack before she sliced her blade across its stomach, dark smoke spewing from its chest as she was already dispatching two more. Milo's sword instantly became a javelin as she spun and slashed at the throats of her enemies, thrusting into their chests and bashing them with her shield.

She then threw her shield as she willed her semblance to control its trajectory, as small blades erupted from the bronze shield, turning the spinning disc into a flying buzz saw.

The shield immediately hacked a Grimm to pieces as the shield retracted the blades, rebounded off a tree and straight back into Pyrrha's expecting hand. "...That's new," Jaune said as Pyrrha smirked and bashed away another Grimm.

"What? Did you think you were the only one to upgrade their arsenal?" she said as Jaune then pulled out his shotgun and blasted another into chunks.

"Well to be fair I didn't expect you to be here as well?" he ducked under another, fired from the second chamber and then slashed another in half. "But I'm glad you are..." he said with a smile as the turned back to the pack.

"...Otherwise trying to date you this time would have been awkward," he muttered to himself, only for Pyrrha to look back at him with a slight blush on her face.

"What was that?" she asked as Jaune looked away.

"We'll talk about it later, right now we need to deal with these guys and get to the Temple," he raised his blade as he twisted the handle.

The dial turned to the fire symbol as the blade was engulfed in flames. "...So let's get this over with..." he said as they then charged at the beasts, a powerful war cry escaping their lips as they plunged themselves into the beasts of darkness, never knowing of the shadowy presence that watched from a before slowly slithering into the earth.

* * *

Beacon Cliff's

* * *

Ozpin watched from the comfort of his scroll as the two warriors fought against the pack of Beowolves. His eyes scanning and watching as the two fought with both skill and courage.

"Our final pair has just been formed, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie," Glynda said as she walked up beside him as She shook her head at the two on her scroll. "Poor boy, I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. On the plus side, we seem to have a very promising batch of students joining us this year. Miss Nikos is a very capable fighter as is her partner Mister Arc," she said as the man nodded.

"Yes, they certainly are..." a moment of silence drifted between them before he turned to the vice headmaster. "Glynda, what do you see here?" he asked as the woman looked confused until she brought up the footage of Jaune and Pyrrha fighting.

"Mister Arc and Miss Nikos fighting a pack of Beowolves and winning, working rather well together as partners should. Is there something wrong with that?" she asked as the man pointed to the screen.

"Look again," he said as she focused on the fight. "In all your years of watching these tests, how often have you ever seen two students co-operate so effectively?" he asked as she focused on the two. "Look at the way they fight, the way they guard each other's backs, the way they instantly take advantage of a situation created by their partner," she nodded as she began to see what he was talking about.

"Most initiates who take this test usually have their first priorities focused on themselves. They look out for themselves and don't learn the importance of teamwork until after the teams are formed...but these two," he said as he focused on them. "They fight as if they already know everything about each other. They fight as if they have done this before...like they've known each other for a long time," Glynda narrowed her eyes as she looked at the pair.

"You're right, that is strange," she said as she noticed the way they were protecting each other.

"Notice something else, look at the footage before they fought the Grimm," he said as he rewinds the footage.

"Observe the way they look at each other, the subtle glances and the warm smiles they share. And I noticed before the test began Miss Nikos placing her hand in his as if she was trying to comfort him. That shows a higher level of intimacy that shouldn't be possible for two total strangers, and if their backgrounds are correct, they live in two different areas of the Anima continent," Glynda started to piece it together as she looked at the man.

"That's impossible if these two live so far apart, how could they possibly have forged such a bond so quickly?" the man shrugged his shoulders at this.

"I have no idea, it is arguable but apparently the two have only met once prior to coming here and have shared contact information. But talking to a person over the scroll should not have produced such a level of intimacy so deeply or this level of co-operative skill..."

He focused on the two as Jaune finished off the pack leader with a devastating swing from his sword as the fire covered blade split the Grimm in two. The two stared at the pair as Jaune and Pyrrha nodded to each other and then bolted from the clearing.

Ozpin continued to stare at him, as he focused his attention on the young boy he met a long time ago.

* * *

Earlier Deathstalker Cave

* * *

Ruby and Weiss stared at the large cave as they looked at it and the markings on the entrance as they stared at them. "Think this is it?" Ruby asked as Weiss instantly shook her head.

"Are you an idiot? Do you not see the warnings on the wall? This is clearly not the temple but rather a Grimm's lair," Weiss said as she chastised the poor girl.

"Sorry, I thought it would help?" she said meekly as Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Besides Ozpin told us we were looking for a _Temple_ , not a _Cave_ "

"There could be a _Cave Temple_ in there, right?" Ruby asked Weiss shook her head.

"The Cave formation is completely natural, if there was an entrance to a Cave Temple it would be more manmade. Whatever is in there is far too dangerous for any of us to fight, not if we don't want to finish this test alive," She said as she turned around and began to walk away. "Now come on, I think the Temple is this way?" she said as Ruby rolled her eyes.

"That's what you said an hour ago," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that!?"

"Nothing!" Ruby squeaked as she quickly followed after the girl, leaving the cave and its occupant in peace.

Slowly emerging from the ground, a shadowy human figure began to take shape, as glowing red eyes stared into the cave before slithering into the dark cavern. The shadow reaching deeper and deeper into the cave until it stopped at a gold glowing stinger, followed by the intricate red markings that glowed in the dark and a giant scorpion was met before it.

The beast roared as it prepared to lunge at the intruder, but stopped as the shadowy figure released a vile and unimaginable amount of evil towards the beast. The Deathstalker instantly froze as the red eyes glared at it, as a primordial sense of fear shook the beast to its very core and the Deathstalker slowly bowed its head.

The shadow morphed itself an arm as it placed it on the Deathstalkers skull, stroking the beast as if it were a pet. A dark voice resonated from the shadow as it spoke in a language unknown to mankind. A red symbol burned on the platting of its skull as the Deathstalker rose up and the shadow pointed to the north, in the exact same direction as the Temple.

The Beast roared as it moved its way past the shadow as the mysterious being exited the cave and looked back towards the west, the sound of a Nevermore screeching in the distance as the shadow seemed to grin and sunk once again into the earth.

* * *

Emerald Forest Temple

* * *

Yang and Blake looked over at the decaying ruins in the centre of a large clearing as they emerged from the forest. "Think this it?" Yang asked as Blake only nodded as she and Yang made their way over to the structure.

The ruins were covered in moss and vines as the very structure itself was toppled over and crumbled into pieces. The strangest thing, however, was the pedestal's that rested at the centre of the structure, with each one having a chess piece placed on top.

"Chess pieces?" Yang said as she looked at the pedestals.

"These must be the relics," Blake said as she observed the black and gold pieces on the pedestals.

"Some of them are missing, so it looks like we are not the first ones," Yang observed as she noticed some of the empty spaces. "Well, I guess we should pick on huh?" Yang said as she hummed slightly at the decisions. "How about a cute little pony?" she asked as she held up the small golden knight pieces, to which Blake just chuckled.

"Sure," Suddenly her enhanced hearing picked up the sound of a twig snapping as she turned around in the direction, ready to draw her weapon as Yang noticing her partner's sudden alertness followed suit.

Instead of an enemy, however, they were greeted with the appearances of two more students. One was a boy with blond hair, blue eyes who wore a white and golden trimmed set of armour with a huge sword on his back. The other was a girl with short red hair, emerald green eyes and wore a bronze set of armour with a sword and shield on her back.

"See, I told you it was this way," the girl in bronze said as the boy only rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, you were right and I was wrong, can you stop rubbing it in?" the boy grumbled as the girl only smirked as she led the way.

"Who are they?" Blake asked as Yang suddenly smiled widely at the pair, especially at Jaune.

"I know them, we met in the lockers. Jaune! Pyrrha! Hey! Over here!" she yelled as the two stopped their conversation as they saw Yang waving towards them.

"Huh, is that Yang and Blake? Oh yeah, they got here before us in the original timeline as well, I guess history repeated itself for those two huh?"

Jaune stopped as he noticed a distinct spike in aura next to him. To which he discovered that Pyrrha had her cheeks puffed as she glared at the way Yang was smiling at her partner. Her eyes trained enough to know which direction her smile was directed towards at, and not liking it one bit.

"Pyrrha?" she was snapped out of her trance as the boy beside her looked confused. "Are you ok? You were kind of glaring for a second, is something wrong?" he asked as she shook her head.

"It's nothing, sorry about that. Anyway let's go get our relic before it's taken, otherwise, the teams won't be the same," She said as Jaune only watched as she walked past him.

"What was that about?" he wondered as he shook it off and walked over to the two.

"I see you got your partner, very nice," Yang said as she looked at the two. "This is my partner, her name is Blake, Blake these are my friends Pyrrha and Jaune," she said as the girl nodded.

"Please to meet you," she said as the three of them shook hands.

"Nice to meet you, Blake," Jaune said as a memory from his future played before him. One of Blake fighting against Adam as the man was defeated by both her and Yang, only to be killed at the hands of Salem as she drove a spear through their hearts.

He shook it off as the others noticed.

"You ok there?" Yang asked as Jaune only nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I am fine...nothing to worry about," he said as Blake and Yang looked confused while Pyrrha instantly understood.

"We'll go get our relic, maybe you two should look out for anymore Grimm?" she asked as Blake nodded.

"Makes sense, we are still in the open after all," she said as she nodded to Yang and the pair moved out of earshot from them, while Jaune and Pyrrha moved to their relic.

"You had another one didn't you?" he nodded as he took calming breaths.

"Yeah, but it's passed and we can't talk about it now. We just need to grab our piece and wait for the others," he said as he grabbed the golden Rook from its perch.

"But what about the Deathstalker? It was the reason our team fought so well together in the past, what are we going to do about that now?" she asked as Jaune shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, I'll think of something. Why can't time travel be easier?" he muttered the last part to himself as he pocketed the piece. "You know now that I think about it, shouldn't Ren and Nora be here right about-"

Suddenly a loud roar followed by explosions and the gleeful cries of a girl drew everyone's attention to the forest as a large Ursa came swinging through the forest. But then an explosion of pink lightning struck its back as it fell over, dead as a doorbell as an orange-haired, pink wearing girl came tumbling off its back.

"...Now" he chuckled as Nora pouted.

"Aw~ It broke!" the girl whined as Yang and Blake could only stare in shock and awe, while Jaune and Pyrrha could stare blankly at the sight of their old hyperactive teammate.

' _Same old Nora'_ they both thought as Ren came up from behind the bear as he hunched over, trying to catch his breath after chasing after the girl.

"Nora! (Huff) Don't do that (Huff) again!" he said in between breaths. But when he looked up, the orange haired girl was gone and had somehow transported herself over to the Rook pedestal.

"Oooo~," she said as she looked at the Rook, before grabbing it and balanced it on her head. "I'm Queen of the castle~! I'm Queen of the castle~! I'm Queen of the castle~! I'm Queen of the-"

"Nora!" she stopped before giggling and bounced over to Ren.

"Coming Ren!" she said as she hopped and skipped over to the boy, while Yang and Blake could only stare in muted silence.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked as Yang could only stare.

"I...I..." Yang only stuttered as she tried to make heads or tails of whatever she just witnessed. That, however, was put aside as two more figure emerged from the forest, and from the sounds of it, they were arguing.

"I keep telling you, we need to go that way!" a white-haired person said as she pointed to the east.

"And I keep telling you, we need to go this way!" a red wearing girl said as she pointed in the direction of the temple. "Why can't you admit we are lost!" she said as the two were unaware of their surroundings.

"We are not lost! We just...took the wrong turn!" Weiss said as she and Ruby continued to argue.

"That is the definition of lost! You are so frustrating!" Ruby yelled as Jaune and the others watched from a distance.

"Should we tell them that they made it to the temple?" Blake asked as Yang shook her head, smirking slightly as she held up her scroll.

"Give them a minute, this stuff is gold," she said as she recorded their entire argument.

Jaune smiled as a memory from long ago played before him, back in a time before all of the terrors that he would experience when all they had to worry about were grades and dances. To see it playing before him again and knowing what would happen, he didn't want this moment to end.

He could only assume Pyrrha felt the same way as she too was staring at the bickering duo, a hint of remorse in her eyes, as she wished she had not sacrificed herself so long ago.

But now they had a chance to make things right, and they were not going to let it slip by. They shared a nod as Jaune placed his fingers to his mouth and released a sharp whistle that drew their attention, and subtly caused Blake to flinch at the sharp tone.

"If you two are done arguing, we have a test to finish!" he called out as they instantly realised where they were and blushed in embarrassment. Ruby then noticed her sister with her scroll as her face became as red as her namesake.

"You were recording!" she called out as Yang grinned at this.

"Oh yeah! And I can't wait to show this to all our old friends and dad!" she called out as Ruby suddenly zipped over and tackled the blond.

"Noooooooo! How could you!? Delete it! Delete it! Delete it! Delete it! Delete it!" she begged and pleaded as she latched herself onto her sisters back and tried to reach for the scroll that was just out of arm's length of hers. Blake rolled her eyes as she walked over to the two.

"Ok Yang that's enough, we have a test to complete remember?" she said as Yang huffed and crossed her arms at her partner.

"Party pooper" she muttered while she stored her scroll away,

"Hey Ruby, have any trouble getting here?" Jaune asked as Ruby shook her head.

"Nope, we saw a huge cave, but Weiss convinced me that we should leave it alone," she said as Weiss glared.

"It had markings of death all over it! Only an idiot would go in there!" she said as Jaune and Pyrrha chuckled nervously at the irony.

"Good, you better go grab a relic, we're about to head out soon," he said as she nodded and grabbed her relic, the Golden Knight. "All right now that we are all here, a quick introduction would be best, I'm Jaune and this is my partner Pyrrha," Jaune said as she waved.

"Hello," the champion replied with a small wave.

"I'm Ruby and this is my partner Weiss," Ruby said as Weiss however huffed and turned from her, causing Ruby to pout slightly.

"I'm Yang and this my partner Blake,"

"Pleased to meet you," she said with a small smile as the other greeted her.

"My name is Ren, Lie Ren and this is my partner-" "Nora!" suddenly interrupted as she pounced out from between Yang and Ruby, causing both girls to jump back slightly. "She's a little...hyperactive," he said as the girl smiled and bounced on the soles of her feet. The others had nothing to say as they just stared at the girl, before turning their attention back to each other.

"So we all have our relics right?" Jaune asked as they nodded, "Then I think its time we head back to the cliff before anything happens, we're still out in the open here and Grimm-like to take advantage of any moment," he said they all nodded.

' _Ok, so far so good, things are a little different this time, but should still work out in the end. Now if we can just get back to the cliffs before something else happens, I think we'll be in the-'_ Suddenly the ground began to rumble beneath their feet.

' _...Why does the universe hate me?'_

They all turned to the tree lines at the edge of the forest as tree after tree crumbled to the ground. Bursting from the forest was a large Deathstalker as blood red eyes glared at the youths before it. Jaune's eyes instantly widened as he and Pyrrha shared the same look.

' _Shit! That's the same Deathstalker from the cave! But what's it doing here, Ruby and Weiss didn't even wake it up!'_ A loud screech sounded from above as a large shadow passed over the eight, Jaune looked up to see a Nevermore soaring in the sky. Its eye glowing red like the scorpions, as it began to circle the temple ruins from above.

' _Double shit! What are they doing here!? They shouldn't be here this time!'_

The Nevermore screeched from above as it unleashed a hail of feathers at the gathered party. "Take cover!" Jaune yelled as everyone scattered to find cover. Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren took cover by the pillars. While Yang, Blake, Ruby and Weiss managed to hide behind the overturned rubble of the temple.

Large black feathers skewered into the old stone, as the entire temple became riddled with dark spikes as the hunters hid from the airborne threat. Pyrrha used her shield as an extra defence, while Jaune moved Retribution to block more. He glanced over to Ruby as Weiss managed to create a thick layer of ice to hold off the attack.

"We need to get out of here before- Shit! Move!" Jaune yelled just as the Deathstalker charged at them.

The beast easily topped the remains of the temple as the rest of the pieces scattered amongst the rubble. Jaune and his future team managed to tumble into the open, while Ruby and hers were separated to the forest line. They attempted to flee, only for the Nevermore to skewer feathers in their path, a warning if they attempted to escape.

"We're trapped!" Blake called out as she and the others quickly hid behind the tree's as Nevermore feathers rained from above.

"We can't get out until these monsters are dead!" Ruby called out as she drew Crescent Rose and fired at the Nevermore.

"Agreed! Ruby! You, Weiss, Blake and Yang take out the Nevermore, you have the range so use it! Nora, Ren, Pyrrha and I will take on the Deathstalker! Work together and stay alive!" he called out as he and the other drew their weapons.

"Hold up! Who are you to give us orders!?" Weiss called out as Jaune sent a quick glare at her from a distance that caused her to flinch.

"If you want to live then do as I say! Now get to it!" he yelled just as the Deathstalker plunged its stinger at him, only to be blocked by the flat surface of Retributions steel, effectively forcing him to his knees. Pyrrha threw her shield, while Ren and Nora fired at the beast's armour hoping to get the beast off Jaune.

"He's right Weiss, we have to work together!" Ruby said as the others drew their weapons.

Weiss hesitated but unsheathed her weapon as she and the others dashed into the forest in order to avoid the feathers of the flying beast.

Jaune blocked another sting, as Pyrrha appeared by his side firing round after round at the Beasts plated skull, while Nora shot grenades from Magnhild in order to disorient the beast. But the rounds only bounced off its shell and didn't even register the grenades as the Deathstalker glared with glowing red eyes.

' _This thing is tougher than before, our attacks are barely making a dent! even with the amount of power I've suppressed, it should have done some damage. The same with the Nevermore, it's moving faster than something its size should allow. It's like that Ursa attack nine years ago, but it hasn't physically changed...what is going on here?'_ he thought as he swung his blade, as it clashed against its claw.

He was rudely shaken out of his thought as the stinger came barreling towards him.

Pyrrha's warning finally reaching his ear as he quickly positioned his sword in front of him and twisted the handle of the blade, causing the whole blade itself to unfold like a large shield. An inspiration he got from Crocea, as the massive blade became a massive shield.

Retribution Mode II - Sheild Guard

He braced himself as the creature pushed against the massive shield in place, his feet dragging into the dirt and left a trench in its wake. Pyrrha came rushing towards them as she shot round after round, in order to try and draw the beast away from him. But the rounds only bounced off, as the creature continued to defend itself and seemed more focused on attacking him than the others.

' _What the hell is this!? We should have at least damaged it by now, but it just keeps surging off our attacks like they're nothing...unless...'_ He looked into the six eyes of the beast as he instantly recognised the familiar look in its eyes.

' _No doubt about it, it's been enhanced just like the Ursa! Oh shit! Ruby!'_ he thought as he turned his attention to team RWBY, as the Nevermore soared high in the sky.

He was about to run over to them, but the creature swung its pincer at him and he was forced to block slamming him into the ruins. ' _Damn it! I have to finish this quick and go help them; No choice, I need to access some of my reserves. About ten percent should do, hopefully, Ruby and the others can handle themselves!'_ The Deathstalker slammed its pincer into his blade/shield and forced him back.

The creature reared back to strike, only to be interrupted as a spray of bullets clashed against its side. Ren quickly dashing around the beast, as he continued to shot at all sides of the beast in order to draw it away from Jaune. The Grimm roared as it swung its tail around, hoping to beat the boy away from him and focus on its main prize. However, in that moment, the creature had done the one thing you should never do in a fight.

Turn away from your opponent

Before it even had time to react, the creature roared out in pain, as three of its six legs were suddenly decapitated with a searing pain of fire sealing its wounds. The sudden loss of its legs caused the beast to stumble, as it fidgeted on the open plain.

"Pyrrha! Stinger!" he ordered as she nodded. Not taking the chance to let it regain its footing, Pyrrha drew back her shield and launched it again at the stinger, the blades added to the shield easily cut the soft tendon of the stinger as it fell to the ground. unfortunately, It did not puncture the skull like last time, so Jaune had to improvise.

Twisting the handle, lightning dust surged around the blade as Jaune stabbed his blade into the armoured plating of the deathstalker's head. The blade only reached a quarter of the way into its skull, before the beast began to thrash around.

"Nora!" Jaune yelled as he jumped off the beast and pulled out his shotgun. "Strike the pommel! Nail it to the ground!" he ordered as Nora grinned.

"Roger!" she yelled and began running towards the beast, jumping high into the air, she swung Magnhild against Retributions pommel.

The electricity that still surged around the blade added to her strength as she nailed the beast to the floor. The beast whimpered in pain as it weakly tried to pull itself free of the blade, only for Jaune to walk up to the beast and place his foot on its skull. He then shoved the double barrel into its eye as he glared at the pleading beast.

"Smile, you son of a bitch," he said with a cold voice as two loud shot reverberated in the forest as the Grimm fell limp, the shotgun blast riddled whatever brain was inside its head to mush and instantly finished the job. He then removed his blade as he sheathed it to his back.

"Well, that was...brutal..." Ren said as he stepped over one of its disintegrating legs.

"But awesome! You were like an action hero with those cool lines like! 'I will return' or 'Yippee Hiya, Father lover' it was awesome!" Nora said as Pyrrha walked up to him.

"We should probably go and help the others, that Grimm looked tougher than the others, they might need our assistance?" she said as Jaune was about to nod when he looked up.

"Somehow I think they'll be fine," he said as he smirked slightly at the now empty sky.

* * *

Earlier with Team RWBY

* * *

Ruby and the others continued to duck and weave amongst the trees as the Nevermore screeched from above. Black feathers crashing through the canopy as streams of light broke through the dark forest.

"Come on! Is that the best you've got!?" Yang yelled as she jumped high and fired shot after shot from her gauntlets. Only for the beast to barrel roll out of the way. "Damn it! Stop dodging already!" she yelled before being tackled out of the way by Blake as a feather speared the tree behind her.

"This isn't working, if we keep this up we'll run out of ammo before we even get a chance to wound it!" Blake said as she loaded another clip into her weapon.

"And I'm down to two magazines in my rifle!" Ruby said as she too reloaded her gun.

"And I've only got three dust phials left!" Weiss said as she hid behind the tree.

"Same with me!" Yang said as she patted the two ammo belts in her back pocket.

"We need to knock it out of the sky, bringing it down to the ground and clip its wings!" Weiss yelled as she propelled herself behind cover as a trail of feathers marked behind her.

"Easier said than done princess!" Yang yelled as she fired another rocket at the bird before she could have to time to respond. Ruby quickly surveyed her surroundings as she looked at her team, the Nevermore and the last two magazines on herself and Yang. She then looked at her rifle and the sun, before a small light bulb flashed on her head.

"Guys I have an idea!" she called out as they briefly looked at her, "Yang! Throw your ammo into the air!" she said as her sister looked at her.

"What? Why?!"

"Just do it!" she yelled as Yang only shrugged, pulled out her last two belts and threw them high in the air.

"Cover your eyes!" she called out as Ruby quickly peered down her scope, and shot the ammo, igniting the dust and causing a large flash of light.

The Nevermore screeched in pain, as the light temporarily blinded the flying beast causing it to lose control and crash into the forest, carving a large trail of dirt and roots in its path. Before it could get up, a large glyph appeared beneath the creature as gravity sharply increased.

"Blake now!" the young rose said as she and Blake quickly dashed towards the beast and sliced deeply into the bird's wings, clipping its wings and taking away its ability to fly.

The Nevermore screeched as it attempted to rise against the gravity that forced down on it. But a sudden expulsion of fire and heat against its face sent it tumbling to the ground as the Nevermore fell to the forest floor, a large crack spreading across its mask.

"Now! Finish it off!" Ruby yelled as she and the others unloaded every clip they had at the Grimm. It's dying screeches echoed in the forest before it fell silent and the beast was dead.

Everyone was forced to take a breath as they huddled together. "Well, that was...intense..." Yang said between breaths as she was bent over on her knees. "Never fought a Grimm-like that before, it was way too fast for something this big?" she said as Blake nodded.

"It is strange? But it's dead now, so let's be thankful for that," Blake said as she and the others looked at the decaying corpse.

"In any case, we need to head back and help the others. They might need our help," Ruby said as they nodded and quickly dashed out of the forest. They arrived just in time as they came across a sight they did not expect.

The Giant Deathstalker was dead, a large hole in its head and several of its limbs spread out amongst the grass as the others were sitting calmly on the ruins of the temple. "Hey, what took you so long?" Jaune asked as he smirked slightly from his perch.

"Yeah, we killed ours much quicker than you guys did," Nora said hanging upside down from the archway.

"Well we had to deal with mister feather butt staying in the air, you guys only killed it quicker because yours was on the ground!" Yang said as she crossed her arms.

"Yeah!" Ruby said as she poked her tongue out at Nora, who responded in kind.

"Regardless, I think it would be best if we head to the cliffs now. We are low on ammo and aura, and there is no telling what else is in this forest?" Ren said as the others nodded.

"Agreed, let's get out of here," Jaune said as he looked over at the large corpse and turned to leave the forest.

What the group didn't know was that from a distance they were being watched. The strange shadow that had summoned the two Grimm was observing the eight hunters. His gaze focused solely on the boy with the blond hair as its eyes glowed brighter with rage and fury.

A shadowy arm formed from its darkness as a red glyph appeared on the back of its hand. The mark of a three-horned dragons head glowed on his hand as a dark and malicious aura pulsed from the mark. Two identical marks appeared on the Nevermore and Deathstalker, as they suddenly opened their eyes and screamed.

The gathered eight spun around in shock and horror as the two corpses began to convulse and thrash upon the ground. "What the hell! Didn't we just kill them!" Yang yelled as and others backed away from them.

"We did! They shouldn't be moving at all!" Ruby said as she and the others could do nothing but stare. Then suddenly, as if being pulled by an unknown force, the two bodies began to move towards each other. Dragging across the floor before they collided together and merged into a ball of pure darkness.

"W-What's going!?" Weiss said as she and the others looked at the supposed dead Grimm they had just killed.

Jaune could only stare in horror as he stared at the sphere of darkness. "No, It can't be...not here, " he said barely above a whisper, as Ren looked at him curiously before focusing on the strange orb.

The orb pulsed with dark red energy before exploding with a pulse that could only be described as pure evil. What emerged from the sphere had caused them to gasp in horror.

From the sphere a large creature had emerged, two times large then Nevermore and three times more menacing than the Deathstalker.

Its body was similar to that of a man with thick arachnid-like legs that stabbed the earth beneath them, as two sets of jet-black wings rested on its back. Each one bore blood red marks that glowed ominously against the pitch-black feathers that covered its body. From its body, two large pincers were connected to its arm that snapped and clicked with jagged and uneven edges that sent fear down the spines of the young warriors.

Its body was covered in bone white armour, with dark red markings covering its body and glowing with an unnatural light. It slowly raised its head which was now a cross between the Nevermore and the Deathstalker, as a long jagged beak, with two small pincers resting beneath its beak clicked and snapped ominously as six blood red eyes glowed from the darkness of its bone-like mask.

Before them now was a creature, unlike anything they had ever seen, a monster that was never meant to exist for many a year. A creature that Jaune was all too familiar with, a creature of pure and utter darkness made from the darkness of others. A creature named...

"...Chimaera..."

And with that mighty roar, the true battle had just begun.

* * *

Omake: Privacy suggested by _Azumadofu_

* * *

Pyrrha slowly opened her eyes as she found herself floating in an endless sea of darkness with the floor beneath her feet the only spot illuminated as she slowly quickly looked around.

"W-where am I? Wasn't I just fighting before? How did I get here?" she wondered as she looked around the dark room. Suddenly the world around her began to shift and change as if it were static on a screen. "What?" was all she could say before the static began to clear and found herself before Jaune as he stared at himself in the mirror, a grim and sadden look on his face.

"Jaune? Jaune! What's going on? Where are we? What happened to Beacon!?" she called out only for him to ignore her. "Jaune answer me! What is going-" she said as she reached for him, only for her hand to go right through him.

"W-What! H-how! Why did I-!"

Instantly her hands shot to her chest as the memories of her final fight replayed in her head as she remembered her final moments. An arrow that shot through her chest, the pain that crushed her heart and the fire that burnt her flesh as she fell to her knees and stared at her hands. Horror clearly etched in her eyes as she now noticed that her hands were transparent and ghost-like as she flickered with a soft red light.

"I-I died...oh Gods, I am dead! But, but why am I here? Why aren't I in-?" that was when she noticed a small red strand that started from her chest and connected to him, a red strand that connected her to him and the world of the living.

"I'm...I'm inside Jaune? But, but how is this?"

A soft sigh caught her attention as she looked back to see Jaune staring at himself as he rubbed a hand across his face. His face no longer bearing the happy smile she so often loved, but instead on of sorrow and regret.

"Jaune...oh Gods Jaune," she said as the boy looked at himself in the mirror.

"She's dead, you have to get over her, you have to live on for her. It's what she would want...but..." he tried to reason with himself, only for him to shake his head and curse.

"But-but I can't...I...damn it...damn it!" he screamed as he slammed his fist into the ivory sink, and hollered in pain as he clutched his hand. "Fuck!" he screamed as Pyrrha could only watch him her spot, realising now what her sacrifice had done to the boy she loved.

It hadn't saved him...It had broken him

"Jaune..." she closed her eyes and wept silently. "Oh gods, I didn't - I didn't mean for any of this...I didn't...oh Jaune," she said as she tried to comfort him, only for her hand to pass right through him and she cried with unseen tears, the full weight of her actions now heavy on her soul.

But then she stopped as she looked up with a determined face. "Jaune...I promise...I will always be with you...I'll never leave your side, I promise," she spoke softly as once again she tried to reach out to the boy she loved, only to once again pass his form. Blocked by something she could not describe.

A grim reminder of her fate...

Suddenly she heard a knocking as she and Jaune turned to the door, "Hey Jauney can you hurry up, others need to use the bathroom too you know!" Nora's voice spoke out as Pyrrha looked confused.

"Bathroom? What is she..." she stopped as she finally took notice of her surroundings. A pristine white sink, a showerhead and curtains with a small toilet located next to the back of the white room.

"Oh no," she said with the smallest voice as Jaune turned to the door.

"Ok Nora, I'll be out in a few minutes! I just need to have my shower!"

"Ok! But hurry up!" Jaune only sighed as he grabbed the hem of his shirt and slowly pulled it over his head. If she was still alive - and if there were any trace of blood in left in her at all - it would have immediately rushed to her cheeks as her whole body went bright red. She quickly covered her eyes with her hands as she tried to look away from the boy.

"Jaune! No! Wait! I'm still in here!" she pleaded as she then realised a special thing about being a spirit.

 _Everything_ was transparent.

"Oh no! I can see through my hands!" she screamed as she tried to back away from the boy. "I need to get out of here!" she tried to float to the door, only for the red strand to go taut as she fell on her back. "What!?" she said as she looked at the string.

"I can only go three feet from him!" she exclaimed as he began to remove his belt. A small eep escaped her lips as she turned around and tried to look anywhere but the boy behind her.

"I mustn't look! I'm stronger than this! I mustn't look! I'm stronger than this! I mustn't look! I'm stronger than this! I mustn't look! I'm stronger than this! I mustn't look! I'm stronger than this! I mustn't look! I'm stronger than this! I mustn't-!" she stopped as she heard the sound of water running and slowly turned around to her crush.

Her whole face exploded in a blush of red as a thin ghostly trail began to seep from her nose.

"...I'm weak..."

* * *

 **And Scene, well here is Chapter VI of Restart. Sorry for the long wait, I wanted to get this done sooner, but I was relaxing for the first time in ages after all the Shit 2016 has been throwing at us. With all the celebrity deaths, the tragedies and the...mistakes...that have been happening 2016 has just been a shitty year.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this Chapter and hope it is to your liking. I'm going to try and make more of these Omakes, some focused on Ghost Pyrrha and others on Jaune's new childhood and his days during the war.**

 **So Happy New Year and hope you all have fun waiting for Next Chapter, The Remnant Knight will be updated soon along with a new story Idea I have after watching my Favourite CW show.  
**

 **Find out next time in Chapter VII: Chimaera  
**


	7. Chapter VII: Chimaera

RWBY: Restart

When the world was destroyed and all that he had ever known was taken from him. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future...just not the way he expected.

* * *

Chapter VII: Chimaera

* * *

In a time that no longer exists, on a plain that no longer knows the bloodshed of mankind stood a large fortress of stone and iron. The large fortress with its large walls shook with a tremendous force as large sections of dirt and dust littered the air. Soldiers dressed in ragtag armours and torn cloth stood strong the large hoard of Grimm that besieged the sanctuary of New Haven.

"Hold the line!" One of the men as Beowolves began charging at the fort.

Large Echidna like creatures lumbered up behind them and fired thin spikes like spears at the fort. Riddling the already damaged and decaying fort with bone spears. A soldier screamed as a bone like a spike pierced his leg and he fell from his perch on the wall.

"ARGH! MY LEG!" he screamed even as the fighting continued around him until a dark figure landed before him.

He looked up in horror as a Beowulf lunged at his prone form before it was bashed away by tall figure wielding a white shield and stabbed it in the chest. The warrior then slashed away two more Grimm before he sheathed his sword, reached down and grabbed the soldier by the scruff of his vest and dragged him back.

"Nora! Cover fire!" the man yelled as several loud shots exploded in the air as several more Grimm fell to the floor.

The man placed the soldier against the wall as he broke off two sections of the spike and tore off a piece of his cloak. He then wrapped it around the spike in his leg, as he knew how close it was to the man's femoral artery.

"Keep pressure! Don't remove it until the medics get here!" Jaune said as the soldier nodded and held the cloth now wrapped around the spike.

"O-Okay! T-Thank you sir!" he said as panic filled his voice. Jaune placed a hand on his shoulder, as he looked him in the eyes.

"You're going to be alright!" he said as he then left him and drew his sword once more.

"Look out!"

The large wooden gates exploded as the ancient wood was smashed to pieces. Jaune tumbled on the ground as the sudden exploding gate caused his ears to ring and his vision to blur as he slowly stood back up. His eyes widened as the soldier he rescued was in the clutches of a large monster.

"NO!" he screamed as the soldier silently pleaded for him to save him only to be torn in half by the creature. The creature large and powerful with hybrid features glared with glowing red eyes, as the symbol of a three-horned dragon glowed deeply on its chest.

* * *

Present Day – The Emerald Forest

* * *

A cold sweat was present on Jaune's brow as he tightened his grip on Retribution as he stared into the face of death itself. A creature that had destroyed practically all of his men and helped drive mankind to the point of extinction.

A Chimera...a creature forged from the fresh corpses of Grimm...and loyal only to one being...

' _W-what the hell is this thing doing here!? It shouldn't exist for another three years!'_

The creature stretched its large wings as its scorpion-like body creaked and cracked with every move it made. Its hybrid like mouth screeched a terrifying roar as an intense killing intent slammed into all eight hunters.

"W-What is that!" Weiss said as she backed away slightly.

"I-I do not know! I-I have never seen anything like this before?" Blake said as she felt her instincts screaming at her to run away.

"W-What should we do?" Ruby asked as Yang cocked back her gauntlets.

"Let's fight it-"

"Absolutely, not!" he commanded as everyone flinched at his tone. "This thing is dangerous! We need to – Move!" Jaune ordered, as his yell was enough to shake them from the shock and just avoided the large beast. The creature then turned its attention to him as it released a terrifying roar and attacked the young hunters.

"We have no choice! Stand and fight!" Ruby ordered as she unfurled her massive scythe.

"Ruby wait!" Jaune yelled as the girl disappeared in a flurry of roses.

The beast roared as it swung it massive pincers in every direction, trying hard to hit the young huntress. Ruby using her speed to her advantage as she dashed around the creature. Jaune watched stunned for a moment before he shook off his shock.

"Damn stubborn - Pyrrha! Everyone! Let's go!" he said and lifted his sword as the Spartan nodded.

"Right!" she said as she drew her weapons and charge along with the others. The creature was still distracted by Ruby's speed that it never noticed the yellow blur coming up behind it.

"Yeehaw!" Yang yelled as she jumped up and hit the monster in the back of the head, causing it to stumble. "Ha! It's not so tough!" she said only to be backhanded by the monster's scorpion-like tail and slammed into a tree.

"...Ok, I take that back..." she moaned as she looked up at the sky with small stars floating around her head.

Blake and Ren quickly dashed forward, as Ren unloaded every bullet he had against the beast, while Blake drew its attention with her shadows. Nora slammed her hammer into the monster's face, only to be blocked by its iron strong wings.

"Hey! No fair! You're supposed to go boom!" she said as she landed back from the beast as Jaune ran past her.

"It's not going to go down that easy, Nora!" he said as he clashed his sword against the beast's pincers. Pyrrha appearing beside him as she blocked the other pincer with her shield, her feet dragging from the force as she and Jaune held back the creature.

 _'Damn it! Why is it here!? And if it's here!? Does that mean_ _ **he**_ _is_ _awake!?'_ he thought as he and Pyrrha quickly bashed away the monster claws as it roared at the pair.

* * *

Beacon Cliff

* * *

The two veteran hunters could only stare in muted horror as they watched the Grimm bodies suddenly pile in together and form a creature they had never seen before.

"W-What is that!?" Glynda asked as she and Ozpin stared at the hybrid like creature before he turned to Glynda and grabbed the hilt of his cane.

"Glynda! Evacuate the entire forest and alert the other students! We need to contain this now! I'll contact the other staff members!" he ordered as he sent a quick message to Port and Oobleck.

"Attention all initiates! Evacuate Emerald Forest immediately! There is an unidentified Grimm in the area! The test is cancelled! I repeat the test is cancelled! Get out of the forest now!" her voice echoed throughout the emerald forest as those that remained fled.

"We have to get to the now! Those students won't last long against that thing!" Glynda said as he nodded and then dashed into the forest with Glynda in tow.

* * *

Emerald Forest

* * *

The creature roared as it swung widely at its prey, the ground and the dirt ripping apart as every hit missed the young huntsmen. But with the limited amount of aura and ammunition that was left with the other seven, Jaune and Pyrrha were struggling to keep their friends alive and think of a way to somehow kill this beast without revealing their true strength.

However, their options were becoming limited as they could sense their friends already low aura reserves depleting at a rapid pace. It would only be a matter of time before their auras would fail and they would be vulnerable.

As if to prove their point Ruby was flung across the forest as she slammed into a tree, her aura breaking as she was now vulnerable and defenceless.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled as she ran over to her sister, while the beast prepared to lunge at the fallen girl.

However, Jaune quickly unclipped his pistol as he unfolded Retribution into shield form, blocking the hit from the beast. He then sent a quick pulse of aura through the metal as the Chimaera was shot back a few feet, only for the beast to roar as the wing on its back moved in front of its body and the feathers sharpened like knives.

"Everyone! Get behind me!" he ordered just as the black feathers shot from its wings and easily decimated anything that stood in its path.

Trees and rocks were reduced to splinter and rubble along with the already destroyed temple that was now completely decimated. Luckily Jaune had managed to get the others behind Retribution's shield as the strong titanium steel alloy - plus his aura coating the blade - proved to be strong enough to easily repel the feathers. But it took nearly all his strength just to hold off against the barrage.

"Shit! We can't move!" Yang yelled as she and the others hid behind Retribution Mode II – Shield Guard.

"Well, we got to do something!" Nora said as Jaune had already formulated a plan.

"Listen, I'll distract it while you get out of here and head back to the cliff. Try and get the teachers here while I hold it off!" he said as planted the sword/shield into the dirt. "Stay behind the Shield until I tell you to go! Pyrrha get them to the cliff!" he said as he readied his pistol.

"No Jaune, I am not leaving you to-!" she tried to argue as he turned to her with a powerful gaze that screamed authority as he pointed in the directions of the cliff.

"That's an order! Now get ready while I distract it!" he said as for a moment, the feeling of his former life in the alternate future passed washed over him and he was back in the trenches as he readied himself.

"But Jaune how are you going to fight with your weapon like this!?" Ruby gestured to the sword/shield that protected them from the barrage of sharp feathers. But Jaune ignored her and pressed a small section of the sword. The swords handle suddenly sunk slightly into the shield as a small ticking noise could be heard.

He then raised his pistol as he breathed in and waited. "Get ready to move!" he ordered while something shot out of the shield as the object suddenly distracted the creature.

Jaune then used this opportunity to fire multiple shots at the creature's face as it stumbled back in annoyance. The object then fell rapidly to earth as he held out his hand and grabbed the fallen object with his hand, which was revealed to be a sword.

The blade was much thinner than Retribution, but still had the mechanism for the dust cartridges embedded in the hilt of the blade with what looked like another sword in a white sheath stuck in the middle. A quick slash with the blade and a gust of wind blew across the field as Jaune held the new blade in his hands.

Retribution Mode III – Crocea's Revival

He sprinted towards the beast as he swung the blade much faster than Retributions original mode, as the beast just managed to bring its wings up to defend against the attack. Using his aura to boost the edge of the blade, he made a large shallow cut on its wings before he jumped off the wings and rolled on the ground as he shot several more bullets at the beast as the creature turned away from the others.

"Go! Get to the cliff!" he yelled just as a large pincer slammed into the ground, had he not jumped out of the way.

"Come on, let's go!" Pyrrha said as they all started sprinting towards the forest.

"But what about Jaune!? We can't just leave him!" Ruby called out as she looked to see the boy fighting the large beast on his own.

"He gave us an order! Now go!" She said as they ran deeper into the forest, Ruby took a moment to watch before Pyrrha grabbed her shoulder and forced her to run, but not before she looked back as a brief sense of doubt touched her soul.

"...Don't you die on me..." she said as she felt the urge to run back and help him, but knew that her priority right now would be to get the others to safety. No matter how much it pained her to do so.

The beast roared as it fires wave after wave of razor sharp feathers at the warrior. Each one tearing apart the landscape even further as the young man kept running around the Chimaera. Firing multiple rounds as it only seemed to antagonise the beast even further, as more feathers rained from its form completely eradicating the forest around the temple.

He dashed at high speeds towards the beast, as the lighter blade slashed against its arachnid-like legs, causing the beast to howl in pain and attack with even more fury. But Jaune had little care for the monster's fury, as he sheathed his pistol, grabbed his shotgun and fired two fire rockets at the beast.

The red dust and his combined aura instantly exploded upon contact as the beast screeched in furious anger.

"Did that piss you?" he asked smugly as the beast only roared in response. "Good because you're not the first Chimaera I've taken down and you won't certainly be the last. Though I should thank you, with the forest destroyed, it's a good chance that all the cameras in the area have been destroyed. Which means..." he lifted Crocea's Revival as a dark grin grew on his face.

" **I can finally go all out!"** a wave of killing intent rolled off his body as the Chimaera, for a moment, flinched back at the intense pressure that rolled off the boy's body.

His body became a blur as the Chimaera barely blinked before Jaune reappeared before him and swung Crocea Revival at high speeds towards its face. Barely managing to bring up its wings, the creature was spared the loss of its head in return for the lose one of its left wings. The creature roared in pain as its stump leaked with pure black smoke.

The Chimaera stumbled back as it looked at what remained of its wing and then at the boy who robbed him of his limb, as the blade in his hand had a slight glow to it.

"Did that hurt?" he asked as the creature flinched at the cold tone of his voice. "It should, turns out Crocea has the unique ability to store aura and enhance the edge of it blade by applying the stored aura inside of it, Crocea's Revival uses Crocea's that ability to enhance itself further by drawing on my aura, making the blade twice as sharp and twice as deadly," he said as he pointed the blade at the beast.

"The only downside is that when it's in Retribution sheath, the effect is not as potent than in this form...but I don't expect a creature like you to understand. All you need to know is that you'll die by this blade..." he then grabbed the handle with both hands as his aura began to swirl around him.

"So, let's get wild!" he roared as he charged at the beast.

* * *

Emerald Forest – Halfway back to the Beacon Cliffs

* * *

The others were running at full speed as they were desperately trying to make it back to the cliffs. Which was hard to do considering that most of their aura had been depleted and they were low on ammunition. Luckily, they didn't run into anymore Grimm as they traversed the forest.

Pyrrha leading the charge as she kept a watchful eye out for anymore Grimm that could attack the others. But while she was leading them to the cliff's, her mind was back on Jaune, hating the fact that he forced her to leave him behind to face the Chimaera by himself.

She knew he could handle himself after beings sealed inside him for ten years, watching as he fought against monsters and demons of unbelievable size and strength and always coming out alive, save for his final battle with the Grimm King. But still, she feared for his life still feared the possibility of losing him to the clutches of death.

After everything she had been through, everything she felt inside him, she wanted to keep him safe once again. And now after finally being reunited with him after so many years of loneliness and sorrow, she didn't want to lose him.

Not after finally returning to him.

"I can't believe we just left him!" Yang said as she and the others were running for their life. "We should have stayed and fight!"

"You saw what that thing was, we wouldn't stand a chance against it, not in our current condition. A tactical retreat was the only recourse available to us. And as harsh as it sounds, one of us had to stay behind to hold it off." Blake said with no emotion in her voice, knowing from experience the hard choices that had to be made on the battlefield.

Ones that cost her many friends in the past due to her prior affiliation.

"That maybe be...but why didn't she stay as well?" Yang asked as she gestured to the Spartan ahead of him. "She's his partner after all, how could she just leave him like that?!"

Pyrrha suddenly stopped in her tracks as everyone stumbled to a halt. The whole forest seemed deathly still as they could feel the sudden shift in the air.

"...You think I wanted to leave him behind?" she spoke as Yang flinched at the venom laced with her words.

"You think I wanted to leave him behind to face that beast alone?" a cold rush of air sent chills down everyone's spines as she turned to the brawler whose eyes seemed almost toxic with rage, mixed with her cold expression and it made her even more frightening.

"The only _**reason**_ I left him back there was because he _ **ordered**_ me to go so that I could get _**all of you to safety!"**_ she said as Yang flinched at her harsh tone.

"I've known Jaune for a long time now, and I know the kind of person he is. He's smart, he wouldn't do something so reckless as fighting against something like that unless he had a plan. He knew the condition everyone was in and he knew that I was the only one that could keep you safe until we get back to the cliffs _._ And as much as I hate to admit it, he was right. The only way to get everyone out alive was for him to stay behind while we all went to get help," she then glared up as she got up and close to Yang's face.

"But let me make one thing perfectly clear. As soon as I get all of you back to the cliffs, I _**will**_ be going back to help him. _**Understood?**_ " she said as she glared at the girl.

Normally Pyrrha would never be this mean to Yang, she considered her a sister after all. Especially when the original Yang used to cheer her on for Jaune's affection in the original timeline. But in this new timeline, that level of trust and friendship had not been forged yet and Yang was starting to make moves on her partner.

She could overlook that little detail, as Jaune was more confident and that always made him more attractive - to her at least. But the moment Yang accused her of just leaving her partner behind was a step over the line.

Not after everything she had been through, everything she had seen... and especially not after everything **he** had been through. She breathed a calming breath as her grip on her weapons slacked and she faced her.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you like that. It wasn't exactly easy for me either, I hope you understand that?" she sheathed Milo as Yang looked at her and the others as they nodded.

"...Yeah, I get it. I am sorry I said that...I just hate running from a fight. Especially if someone else was staying behind. It just doesn't sit right with me, you know?" she said Pyrrha nodded.

"It's ok, I know what you mean," she said as she held a hand over her chest atop the emerald in her armour, the same area where Cinder shot her arrow.

The situation was a harsh reminder of the original timeline and wondered if this is how he felt when she sent him away? The fear he must have felt and the pain of knowing that he could have done something to prevent it. She now understood his outburst the other night.

No one should ever have to experience that kind of pain, ever. But even though she knew Jaune was stronger this time, she still feared the possibility of losing him, the possibility of being separated from him again.

She never wanted to experience that again.

"Students!" they turned their heads as Ozpin and Glynda came speeding towards them.

"Professors! What are you doing here?" Pyrrha said as she had not expected them to interfere. But then again, a monster that no one would see for another five years that just appeared in the middle of a test, it would be only natural for them to interfere now.

"The more pressing question is what are all still doing here? The test has been cancelled until the creature is dealt with, didn't you hear the announcement?" Glynda questioned as they shook their heads.

"We were busy fighting the beast that we didn't notice. Does that mean everyone in the forest has evacuated?" Pyrrha asked as Ozpin nodded.

"We passed several more students on the way, the only initiates that should be left are you seven," Ozpin said as he looked around. "Where is Jaune Arc?" Ozpin said as he noticed that he wasn't amongst the other students.

"He stayed behind to hold it off while we escaped," Weiss said as she failed to notice her partner look back to clearing as she tightened her small fist.

"What! What was he thinking!" Glynda said as Pyrrha stood before them.

"He knew most of the others were low on aura and decided that one of us should hold it off, so he volunteered to stay behind while I led the rest back to the cliff. But he needs help if we don't leave now!" she said as she was about to turn back to the forest when Ozpin managed to grab her arm.

"No, you and the others head back to the cliffs, Goodwitch and I shall go and assist Mister Arc. You've all done enough, let the adults handle the rest" he said as Pyrrha shook her head and glared at the man.

"No, Jaune is my partner and I am not leaving him behind. I am going back to help him, whether you like it or not, **Headmaster** " a hint of venom was in her voice as she said the world Headmaster.

Something that Ozpin instantly picked up as he raised an eyebrow at the redhead. But when he looked in her eye, he noticed something that he had only seen a long time ago in a small tavern in Anima.

A look that he had only seen once before in a young Arc seventeen years ago.

Weiss was about to tell the others that they needed to go when she realised that something was off, rather someone was missing.

"Wait, where is Ruby?" everyone stopped what they were doing and noticed a faint trail of Roses heading back towards the clearing.

"RUBY!" Yang yells as Weiss cursed

"THAT IDIOT!" she yelled as Pyrrha dashed after the roses, knowing full well where they were heading. "PYRRHA NO!" Weiss called out before Yang, Blake, Ren and Nora dashed after the redheads. "WAIT! WHERE ARE, YOU ALL GOING!" she called out before she scowled and then chased after them while muttering about stupid children.

"CHILDREN COME BACK!" Glynda called out before she turned to Ozpin, "Headmaster we have to go!" she called out as she was about to run, but stopped when she looked back at the man, as he appeared to be starting off into space.

"Ozpin?" the man was shaken from his trance as he blinked and then looked back to Glynda.

"I-I am fine," he said as he stared at the place Pyrrha stood before he turned to Glynda and nodded. "Let's go, Mister Arc may not last much longer," he said as both teachers nodded and chased after the seven students who had gone after the one who stayed behind.

* * *

Emerald Forest Clearing

* * *

The beast was limping and breathing heavily as pitch black smoke leaked from its wounds. The left wing now nothing more than a smoking stump, while three of its legs had been painfully removed as they were nothing more than smoking stumps. The bone plating that covered its body was cracked, dented or even missing in most places as one of the pincers was slowly disintegrating whilst hanging by a thread.

It growled and moaned in pain as it looked up with two remaining eyes, as Jaune had already claimed four of them as the boy himself stood only a few feet away, with only a few scratches on his face and dirt on his armour.

"I have to admit, even with only using twenty-five percent of my reserves you're still putting up a good fight." He rested the Crocea Revival on his shoulder. "Which is impressive, but means that your master doesn't know the full extent of my power yet so he didn't give you enough to kill me." He said as the beast flinched.

"That's right, I know Salem didn't send you and I am guessing your link to her is cut and you're being controlled by your true master. The one who sent that Ursa Mega after me nine years ago, am I right?" the beast only growled as Jaune nodded.

"So he is back, that would explain a lot - except how I came back..." he then hefted the sword off his shoulder as he pointed it at the Grimm.

"But, I don't have time for this. The teachers should be here any minute and I need to make it look as convincing as I can if they want to be able to kill you. So, sorry beast..." he held the blade with both hands as a cold glare entered his eyes.

"But it's time to end this game of ours," the beast growled in a mixture of fear and rage as backed away slightly from the boy it stood before it. This human that its master commanded it to destroy had systematically broke it and played with him like he was the prey while the boy was the hunter.

Was this how it would end for the Chimaera? To be killed at the hands of this one human that his master is so fixated on, to die just so his master could learn his secrets? This was what its purpose was, a sacrifice? The Chimaera growled in rage as it stood on its remaining legs.

No, this was not how the beast would go down, it would not die at the hands of a human, this traveller from another time. It would not stand for this! But if the beast wanted to change its fate, it would need a moment to catch the boy off guard, a single instant that would turn the tide and bring it a victory.

"Jaune!" a voice cried out as Jaune turned to the sound as Ruby came speeding out of the forest. "Jaune! I've come to help!" she said as his eyes widened in fear.

"Ruby!? Get out of here!" he yelled as the beast grinned at this.

Perfect

With its remaining strength and the power granted to him by his master, the Chimaera quickly bashed the boy far away with its pincer, who was barely able to absorb the impact in time. But the act did little to prevent him from slamming into a tree.

The beast raised its last wing, shaped every feather in its left and fired them at the small girl at high speeds as Jaune turned in horror before he sprinted toward the girl.

"Ruby!" he called as she quickly evaded a few, only for one to scrape against her leg, causing her to lose her balance and fall face first into the ground.

The beast wasted no time as it repeated the same process and sent more sharp feathers toward her.

Ruby knew there was no way she could dodge all of them in time, and not with her leg currently injured that impaired her speed - and with no aura to protect her they would kill her on the spot. In some desperate act of self-preservation, she raised her arms in defence and attempted to shield herself from the barrage as she closed her eyes, not wanting to see her imminent death.

Only it never came as the sound of sharp impacts against a wall resonated in the clearing, followed by the sound of glass slowly cracking that brought her back to reality as she slowly opened her eyes as a large shadow dwarfed her smaller form.

Her eyes soon widened in awe at the sight she saw.

A large shimmering dome of light surrounded her as the black feathers that had nearly killed her were now lodged into the dome, with spider-like cracks spreading across its surface from each impact. Some broke through more than others, while others simply laid on the ground broken like twigs.

"Hey, you ok Crater face?" a slightly pained but humoured voice said as she turned her attention to the front of her eye as her eyes widened in awe.

There before he stood Jaune as he had his left-hand stretch out as it shimmered with a small white light. The dome of light originating from his palm as the black feathers punctured halfway through the barrier.

"J-Jaune? is this your semblance?" she asked as he shook his head. "Holy shizz, you stopped them all," she said with awe only for the boy to shake his head.

"No... Not all of them..." she looked confused before her eyes widened at the black feather that had made it through the barrier and pierced the left side of his stomach where the armour didn't protect. His hand grasped firmly around the shaft as warm blood slowly leaked down his stomach.

"JAUNE! OH, MY GOSH! YOU'RE BLEEDING!" Ruby screamed as the boy ignored her outburst and pulled the shard out of his stomach, revealing that it had only gone in roughly two inches as the tip was covered in blood.

"I am fine, the barrier stopped it most of the way, a little trick I picked- I mean learned from my dad before I came to Beacon and thank the Gods the leather section of this family armour is tougher than it looks and slowed it down - but not completely. Then again, I don't think my ancestors planned to take on something like this?" he said as he threw the feather away from him.

"But back to the matter at hand, what the hell are you doing here Ruby!? I told you to run!" he said with a harsh tone as Ruby flinched back at the tone of his voice.

"I-I-I just thought t-that I'd-I'd-"

Small tears began to gather in her eye's as Jaune managed to soften his gaze and realised that he had been too harsh on the Rosette. He placed a comforting hand on her head as he smiled.

"It's ok, I know your heart was in the right place. Just listen next time ok?" he said as Ruby still hung her head.

Suddenly the Chimaera sped towards the pair as it slammed its remaining pincer into the barrier, causing large cracks to form and spread across its surface. Jaune had to hold up both hands as the barrier continued to crack and creak from the strain. He glared up as the Chimaera seemed almost to grin at his pain as it continued to hammer against the barrier.

He looked at himself, the Chimaera and the small girl that was behind him.

' _Damn it! I shouldn't have taken my time, rookie mistake! I should have figured Ruby would go back for me, she always went back for people, even when the odds were slim! I guess some things never change, no matter what timeline?'_

The Chimaera roared as the red marks on its body glowed brighter as it slammed down even harder on the dome. He cursed slightly as withstood the barrage of the beast.

 _'I've got no choice, I have to use more of my strength, but with Ruby here my secret...'_ he stopped as he looked back as a frightened look was on her face as the beast continued to rain down on them.

It was then that he remembered why it was he trained for the past nine years, why it was that he spent all his time, effort and conviction to get stronger. So that he could protect them, and stop the future that was to come. And right now, he couldn't afford secrecy, not if it cost the lives of those he swore to protect.

His eyes briefly flashed white as flames flickered at the edge of his vision.

' _...No more...'_

The Chimaera roared as it slammed against the slowly cracking barrier. It knew that its prey was injured, afraid and unfocused by protecting the smaller human. They were predictable and easy to exploit. Its master would be pleased to learn its greatest enemy was about to be no more.

But just as it was about to strike again, the dome suddenly expanded and shot the Chimaera back several feet, tumbling and tearing apart the ground. Before it could even stand a powerful pressure slammed into the beast as the forest was illuminated by a powerful light.

Ruby had to shield her eyes when the dome parted and she was blinded briefly by the light that shone in front of her. Before she could make heads or tails of the situation, she too was forced to her knees as a powerful pressure slammed against her. At close proximity, she could barely keep her eyes open as she looked at the source of the pressure, as she stared at the glowing form of the boy before her.

"J-Jaune?" she said as Jaune merely glared back at the beast with powerful white eyes.

* * *

While further away, the others were running through the forest until they felt a massive pressure slamming down on them as some like Weiss, Blake and Ren could barely stand as they fell to the floor. While those of Ozpin, Glynda, Nora and Yang found it difficult to stand as the large pressure slammed down on them.

The only who wasn't as affected as the others were Pyrrha since she had grown accustomed to Jaune's massive aura reserves from her time sealed inside him. But still, even she struggled at the intensive pressure of Jaune's aura.

"W-what the heck!?" Yang said as she fell to her knees. "I can't get up!"

"T-This pressure...it's enormous!" Ren said as he fell to one knee, Nora by his side tried to help him up, but she too struggled against the overwhelming pressure.

"W-What is this!?" Glynda called out as she fell to her knees. "I-Is this someone's Aura!?" she called out as Ozpin slowly stood up.

"I-Indeed it is!" he said as he struggled to stay on his feet. "But I have never felt a power like this before! W-Who's could it be?" he wondered as his gaze fell to Pyrrha as he noticed she seemed to be unaffected by the pressure.

 _'How is she?'_ the pressure suddenly lifted and they stumbled back up.

"What in the?" before they could speak a loud pain filled roar echoed through the forest.

"Let's go!" Pyrrha said as she dashed off to the clearing, while the others stood stunned for a moment, but soon followed the Spartan. Pyrrha was running frantically through the forest as she pushed, cut and destroyed any obstacle that stood in her path.

' _That pressure, that was defiantly Jaune's aura, no doubt about that! But if he had to use more of his power, that must mean something happened...Oh, Gods, I need to hurry!'_ she thought as she ran through the forest, daylight breaking from the end of the forest as she burst through and simply stopped in her tracks.

When the others finally caught up with her, they were stunned at what they saw.

"By the Gods..." Glynda said as a white blur was dashed all over the Chimaera, as the beast was roaring in pain.

Jaune was seemingly disappearing and reappearing in the blink of an eye as he slashed his blade against the monster's skin. His own body coated with white flames as his sword cut and slice into its flesh.

The Chimaera roared as it tried to impale the boy with its tail, only for it to miss and lose its tail in the process. Another roar and the boy slashed the beast across its back, before disappearing and reappearing in front of its left leg and dismembered it. The beast could hardly track its foe, as the boy kept disappearing and reappearing before it could move.

It was as if the boy had somehow unleashed the speed of the Gods themselves.

How was this possible?

Yang stared in awe before she noticed her sister staring blankly at the battle and ran towards her. "RUBY!" she called out as she ran over to her, "Ruby are you ok?" she asked as the girl only nodded.

"Yeah, I am... I am fine... Jaune on the other hand...whoa," she said as she could only watch the boy who saved her life, move at speeds far faster than she could ever achieve.

Pyrrha stood next to them as she watched her partner fight with all his might. The speed, the strength and the power he possessed were all testaments to both his former life and the nine years he spent honing his skills.

It was both awe-inspiring...and sad at the same time.

Sad because the level of strength that he achieved came from such a tremendous amount of sadness and pain, that cost him his life in the end. But now to see him fighting with everything he had, to protect the ones he loved, she could not help but feel proud of him.

Jaune's mind was focused, sharp and deadly as he moved around the Chimaera. To the others who were watching him, it was as if the sudden burst of power had caused him to become reckless. But merely a deception to fell the beast with his own hands.

Each strike he made was calculated, cut with precision and filed with all his strength and rage.

Despite coming back to the past, for seventeen years he held nothing rage at the knowledge that Cinder and Salem were alive again and plotting to take everything from him again. He thought that now with knowledge of the future and the element of surprise, he would have an advantage over his enemy.

But now with this new development, he had no idea what to expect.

' _Can't focus on that now,_ _Time to end this, and better make it look good...man I'm really going to hate this part!'_

He then yelled with a righteous fury as his blade sliced deep into the Chimera's right shoulder, burying the blade half way down its chest before twisting the handle and unleashing a powerful shock of lightning through its system.

This caused the beast to howl in pain as Jaune jumped away from him and planted his sword into the ground.

When he was at a safe distance he drew his shotgun from his back and aimed it at the still stunned beast. He gripped the handle tight as his aura flooded Retaliation, causing runes to appear on the barrel as he glared at the roaring beast.

The Chimaera could only look one last time before Jaune grinned and pulled the trigger firing two shots from the barrel. The dust rockets, combined with his surging aura transformed them into a spiralling ball of white fire as it sped rapidly across the clearing.

The Chimaera had only time enough to scream in rage as the fireball slammed into the beast. A large explosion rocked the clearing, as a shockwave slammed into the others that rustled the trees and blew multiple leaves into the wind followed by a large plume of smoke that blanketed the field.

Silence crept over the clearing, as the dust slowly parted and revealed the victor. Jaune with his left hand still clutched around the handle of Retaliation as the runes on the barrel slowly faded, the final bit of dust parted as it revealed the Chimaera standing tall in the middle of the field...

With its head, no longer on its body.

The body lurched before it fell forward and slammed into the dirt, black smoke already drifting off into the distance as for a moment he spied the blood red mark of a three-horned dragon on its chest, before It transformed into a small trace of smoke that silently crept from the body and slithered off into the woods.

' _That confirms it,_ _ **'He'**_ _is back...well shit, that's just great...'_ he thought before he fell to the ground face first.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled as she ran over to the fallen boy, she could no longer sense his aura as fear gripped her heart. "Jaune! Jaune! Are you ok!?" she asked with a panicked voice as she turned him onto his back as he peeked his eyes open and winked at her before closing them and forced himself into an unconscious state.

She instantly understood as she placed his head on her lap.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby called out as she and the other had finally shaken themselves from their stupor and ran over to the pair. "Jaune, is he?" she asked as Pyrrha shook her head.

"He's fine, he's just low on aura cause that attack took a lot out of him, he'll be alright," she said as she held Jaune's sleeping form.

"Then it is imperative that we get him back to the Academy, the Grimm are more than likely to attack us with one of us wounded. Mister Ren, Miss Nikos? Please carry Mister Arc to the Infirmary," Glynda said as they nodded and both carried him under one arm each.

"Everyone, head back to the school now," she ordered as they nodded and carried the boy back, while she turned to the headmaster, who was standing near the billowing smoke of what remained of the Chimaera.

"We should notify the other Academies, let them know what's happened here in case something like this happens with them," she said as the man seemed to ignore her and continued to stare at the smoke.

"Ozpin...What was this thing? Was it one of Salem's?" she asked as the man stared at the Grimm as he shook his head.

"Honestly Glynda I have no idea...and that's what frightens me..."

Glynda looked on in shock as she stared at the dying beast, unaware of the dark figure that watched from the shadows.

The shadow looked down as the black smoke slowly slithered across the ground and merged with the figure's body. The shadow's eyes glowed red as the piece if itself merged with its dark form. The shadow then released a dark chuckle as it turned back from the forest and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

Several Hours Later – Beacon Infirmary

* * *

Jaune groaned as he opened his eyes to the familiar white ceiling above him. The same ceiling, he saw every time Cardin used to kick his ass. Which meant that he was back at the Infirmary at Beacon Academy. Which meant that they were out of the forest and that the others were safe. Which he was glad for, honestly.

"But by the Gods, I hate this ceiling," he muttered as he slowly sat up on his bed.

It seemed that the nurses had removed his armour and left him in his pants, boots and the red skin-tight shirt he wore underneath. He could feel the bandages around his stomach, as the familiar touch of gauze and antiseptic rubbed against his skin. He looked over to his left as he spotted Retribution and all his weapons leaning near the draw with his armour. Suddenly he heard the door open as two familiar people walked in.

"Well, it would appear that Mister Arc has finally woken up," Ozpin said as he and Glynda Goodwitch walked into the room and stood at the foot of his bed. "How are you feeling young man?" he asked as Jaune blinked at them.

"Professor Ozpin, Miss Goodwitch? What are you doing here? Where am I anyway?" he asked feigning ignorance, which luckily he was able to pull off.

"You're in the Infirmary at Beacon Academy. We had to take you here after your battle with the 'Creature' during the initiation test. You're lucky to be alive Mister Arc, your aura reserves were at a dangerously low level had we not brought you back to the infirmary. You could have died, had we not made it in time" he said as Jaune slightly glared at him.

"Thank you anyway, for saving my life," he said as Glynda shook her head.

"But that doesn't excuse your reckless behaviour young man. What in the name of the Gods possessed you to fight a creature of that magnitude on your own?! You could have gotten killed!" Glynda lectured as Jaune merely glared as he slowly stood up from the bed, grunting slightly at the wound he received from the Chimaera caused him pain.

Glynda was about to stop him from getting up when Ozpin signalled her to stop as he shook his head and made her reluctantly stop.

"I had no choice, after our fight with the Deathstalker and the Nevermore, I knew the others were low on aura and ammunition. And when that Chi- that monster appeared, I knew the only way any of us was going to make it was if I stayed behind and held it off, at least long enough until help arrived," he said as he went over to the draw and inspected his armour.

"I also knew I had the best chance to hold it off and sent Pyrrha to protect the others, she is the strongest of us, right?" he turned to Ozpin as he shrugged his shoulders.

"That is why you accepted her, isn't it? If not for that then what else? Besides, it's over, isn't it? The monster's dead and the students are safe, isn't that a good thing?" he asked as Ozpin noticed a faint sense of anger in the boy's tone, but decided not to address it.

"I suppose so," he said as he nodded at the boy while Glynda snapped her head to the Headmaster.

"Ozpin!" Glynda was about to argue when he turned to her.

"While I do acknowledge that fact that Mister Arc's actions were reckless and foolhardy, they were strategical logical given the situation he was in and the fact that he managed to achieve the best results possible is a Godsend. Besides he is right, all the students are safe and the creature is dead, I see no reason to admonish Mister Arc's work, do you?" Glynda had nothing to say as he continued.

"He led with valour, strength, and wisdom, all fine aspects of a great leader, wouldn't you say?" Glynda looked conflicted but then nodded at this.

"Though Mister Arc, in the future I'd advise caution, not every battle can be won with brute force or a cunning strategy. In any case, your friends will want to see you now. Especially your partner, she has been quite worried for a while now," the door suddenly slammed open and a familiar red shaped blur shot right into his stomach, causing him to grunt in pain.

"...Though not as much as Miss Rose apparently?"

"Jaune! I am so, so sorry! I didn't mean to get you hurt! I'm really, really sorry!" the small voice of Ruby said as she hugged his chest, giving him a squeeze that caused him to gasp out in pain, as Ruby Rose hugged him with small tears in her eyes.

"Gah! Ruby! I'm fine! But please let go!" he said as he tried to get her off with little success.

The others came into the room as Weiss immediately growled in annoyance as she marched over to her partner/future leader.

"You dolt he's still injured! Let go of him this instant!" Weiss said as she tried to pry the small girl from the boy, while Yang managed to get behind him as she draped her arms over his shoulder.

"Got to admit that was some pretty awesome stuff back there, hot stuff. Especially when you shot that monsters head clean off. Maybe you can teach me how to do that rocket thing?" she said with a sultry smile.

Suddenly Jaune felt a cold presence to his right as he turned to see Pyrrha glaring at them from doorway along with what Jaune could only describe as a menacing growl? Meanwhile, Blake, Ren and Nora stood off to the side with the teachers as they observed the strange scene before them.

"Should we...get involved?" Blake asked as Ren shook his head.

"...No, If I've learned anything growing up with Nora, it's best that we stay out of this madhouse," he said as Blake could only nod, as she observed from the other end of the room.

Meanwhile, Ozpin and Glynda watched as Yang and Pyrrha seemed to be glaring at each other while holding onto both of Jaune's arms, with Ruby was still holding him by the waist and Weiss trying to pull her off.

And while all this was happening Nora was rummaging through the Doctors belongings. A grin on her face as she found a doctor's lab coat along with a stethoscope.

Before any more chaos could arise, Glynda managed to grab everyone's attention as she used her semblance to levitate all those causing troubles, such as Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha and Weis as Nora simply floated around with a doctor's uniform on.

"That's enough, I think it's time we let Mister Arc rest. You have all had a very...eventful day. I would suggest that you all take this time to rest and gather your strength," Ozpin said as he began to usher the others out of the room until Jaune spoke up.

"Wait, what about the exam?" he asked as the man nodded and turned back to him.

"Despite the unknown creature's appearance and the interruption to the entrance exam, most of the students that participated in the exam managed to retrieve a relic and have successfully been accepted into Beacon Academy. While those who failed this task has been sent home, and unfortunately it appears that your relics were damaged..." Ozpin said as he held up the four chess pieces that were broken.

The eight-flinched as they realised that during the chaos that managed to forget their goal and allowed their relics to be damaged.

"However, you eight faced an outcome we were not prepared for, and because of it nearly lost your lives. But you all kept your heads cool and faced it together and came out alive. For this act, all eight of you have been accepted into Beacon Academy, congratulations." He said as the others cheered.

Yang, Nora and Ruby being the loudest, while Ren, Weiss and Blake were just sighing in relief. Jaune and Pyrrha on the hand smiled at each other, happy that they would all be together again.

"However, until the forest has been cleared of any more of those...'Hybrid Grimm', classes will be put on hold for a week until the rest of the staff is assured that there are no more in the area. Until then, the team assignments will be announced tomorrow morning and two amongst you will be selected as team leaders," Glynda said as everyone nodded.

"For now rest up and be prepared. The next four years will be ones that you'll never forget," Ozpin said as Jaune and Pyrrha narrowed their gazes as they knew how true that statement would be.

* * *

Later that Night

* * *

Jaune stood by the window of the infirmary as he looked out over the rest of the campus. The fractured moonlight above them cast a heaven glow over the school that stood as the fortress to the young generation of huntsmen and huntresses. But for Jaune, the school was just a reminder of man's arrogance or rather Ozpin's arrogance in thinking these walls would never crumble.

Thinking that they could protect them from anything that Salem would throw at them. But honestly, how easy was it for Cinder to infiltrate as a student, deceive the citizens and then exploit their fears by using his friends?

For Jaune seeing it all like this again, standing proud and tall just gave him the incentive to prevent the horrors from reoccurring. Suddenly the door softly clicked open as he turned to a familiar shade of red as Pyrrha walked into the room.

"Shouldn't you be resting in the hall?" he asked as she walked over to him.

"I could say the same about you, you looked like you took a heavy beating today. How are you feeling?"

He moved the hem of his shirt up to show the bandages that covered his stomach. He removed the gauze as he showed her the wound that was present in his stomach. A small essence of light shined from the wound as it was slowly closing.

"I'll be fine, I could heal this up in an instant if I wanted to but I can't risk raising anymore suspicion then I already have. I've already shown too much of my skill as it is. That Chimaera coming out of now where has thrown a small wrench in the plan, but not enough to stop what I need to do," he said as Pyrrha nodded and leant on the windowsill.

"Is she there? Under the school?" he asked as she nodded.

"I managed to sneak in and confirmed it. The Fall maiden is under the school, everything is going the same way as before."

Before coming to Jaune, she went to investigate the vault under Beacon Tower. Luckily, she still knew the passcode that Ozpin used in the original timeline and knew that he didn't have any security camera's in the vault in case someone hacked into the mainframe. thus it made it easy for her to sneak in undetected. But there was still something else that the two needed to be addressed.

"That was a Chimaera, wasn't it?" she asked as Jaune raised an eyebrow. "I was inside you for ten years Jaune, I remember everything that happened to you - So of course, I know what that was," she said as Jaune shook his head.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting that. But yeah, that was definitely a Chimaera." He said as he glared out at the moon.

"But I thought only the Grimm King could create Chimera's from dead Grimm? They shouldn't exist for another five years, what was one doing here?" she asked as Jaune sighed.

"Pyrrha...I think we weren't the only ones that came back," Pyrrha raised an eyebrow as Jaune looked at his right arm. "I think somehow, The Grimm King came back with us."

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she remembered the giant beast that her partner fought. The terrifying image that towered over them that still sent chills to her soul.

"B-but he should still be sealed, shouldn't he?! I thought only something as powerful as the four relics or the Maidens can undo the seal!? How is here and now and free!? Did Salem get her hands on the other Maiden's already!?" she asked in a hushed tone as Jaune shook his head.

"I don't think he's free necessarily if he was then everyone would already be dead by now. And as for the other Maiden's and the Relics, if Salem did have them she would have used them by now. No, I think he's still sealed away but has enough power now to influence the Grimm." he shook his head as he tried to grasp this knowledge.

"But this doesn't make any sense? It was said that The Grimm King was just a mindless beast created from the fragment of the God of Darkness. His only goal should be destroying mankind with unyielding force, so why only send one Chimaera instead of an army?" he pondered as he placed a hand to his chin in thought.

"In the Future, we learned that Salem had linked her powers with his, so that it could allow her command over the Grimm. But when she died, she took half his power with her and weakened him - that's why I could beat him in the future. But if he came back the same way we did, then how come he hasn't gone on a rampage and tried to destroy us? If his power increased like us, then why isn't' he free?"

"Also, if he was free, then why hasn't Salem done anything differently? From the news report, Ruby still interrupted the Dust Robbery that got her into Beacon."

"So, If Salem was aware of either of us or the outcome of the future, then why is it still following the same timeline? Why is everything still going the same way? Why did he only summon that enhanced Ursa and that Chimaera? Why is targeting me? Is it because I killed him in the future so he's trying to eliminate me first and if so why send only two Grimm and why not an army?"

"Maybe he's not strong enough? Maybe he doesn't have enough strength to break the seal but wants to get rid of you before he's free?" she said as he nodded.

"That might be it, then if the seal is breaking...then he won't need the Maiden's or the Relics at all. Shit, that's not good," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. An uncomfortable silence drifted between them as they were just trying to process what they had just learned.

"So, what does this mean? Should we follow through with the plan or try something else?" she asked as Jaune crossed his arms and considered all his options.

"I think we should still follow through, if anything happens we can adapt and overcome it. For now, let's assume Salem isn't aware of us and hope that gives us an advantage. But if the Grimm King tries anything else, we need to be prepared. With him in play now..." he looked over to the broken castle piece that Ozpin left behind. "There's no telling what could happen..."

The image of a blood-red mark appeared in his mind as the roar of an unholy beast resonated in his mind as he knew that the battle for Remnants future was about to begin...

* * *

Omake 3 – A day in the 'Life' of Ghost Pyrrha

* * *

"Hmmmmm" Pyrrha stared boringly at the tavern that team RNJR stopped for the night somewhere in Anima. They had just updated Jaune's equipment with the metal that was left over from her shield and circlet to forge a new weapon to assist him in their travel.

Every new day was an interesting experience for Pyrrha since she discovered she was now tied to Jaune's fate. Her initial discovery had been rather...exposed, to say the least. She still blushed every time she thought back to when she watched the boy undress and shower.

Only to later discover that she would have to endure it again, every day for the rest of his life...

Not that she was complaining or anything?

However, right now she was bored out of her mind as she absently floated around Jaune Arc. "Hmm...I never expected life after death to be like this, if I had known then I wouldn't have gotten myself killed in the first place..." she stopped as she looked at Jaune as he stood at the bar getting some food for his friends.

"But at least I'm with Jaune, and that's really all that matters to me...that and the perks aren't too bad," she said with a blush as she knew later Jaune would go to the showers again.

However, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as a young woman passed right through her and leant on the counter near Jaune. "What in the?" Pyrrha said as the woman smiled a rather sultry smile as she faced her partner as he looked confused.

"Hey there", she said as Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"Hey?" he said, not sure what to say to the woman that just walked up to him.

"You're not from around here, are you?" she asked as she leant closer to the counter, the outfit she was wearing left little to the imagination. Jaune blushed slightly as he turned his head away.

"Y-yeah, my friends and I are headed to Mistral," he said as she smiled while Pyrrha felt a strange aura resonating from her.

"Mistral, that's a pretty long way to go. I'm guessing you are hunters then, are you?" she said as she gestured to the sword on Jaune's waist. Jaune nodded as he placed a hand on Crocea Mors.

"Sort of, our school was just destroyed before we graduated. I guess you can say we're freelance?" he said as the woman smirked with a smile that was really starting to get on Pyrrha's nerves. Her anger increased when the woman leant forward as the front of her blouse became a bit more provocative.

"Freelance? Well then, I could use a little help from such a brave and strong freelancer such as yourself," she said as she managed to place her hand on Jaune's bicep, giving a light squeeze as Pyrrha could almost feel her soul spark with anger.

Her hand began to glow a familiar dark grey as the woman leant closer while Jaune tried to move back.

"Why don't you...come with me. I've got a nice room that could use a little comp-"

THWAK!

Whatever she wanted to say died in her throat as a massive axe landed between them. Both Jaune and the woman jumped back in fright as everyone in the tavern to see the large war axe lodged in the counter between them.

If any of them weren't so stunned, they would have noticed a small grey light matter resonating off the axe.

"Holy shit! Did one of the axes fall from the mount?!" The bartender said as everyone in the tavern looked between one of the missing axes that hung above the bar and the one that was stuck in the counter.

Pyrrha was just as stunned as she looked at herself and the axe as she noticed that her hand had a soft glow reminiscent from her semblance.

"Um..." Jaune said as he finally broke the silence that hung over the tavern. "I have to get back to my friends. It was...nice meeting you?" he said as he moved back from her, while the woman was on the floor with pure terror on her face as she seemed to almost have a heart attack at the fact an axe nearly tried to kill her.

"D-did I do that?" she said as he earlier rage had been forgotten as she was stunned at the fact her semblance worked after her death. "But why would...oh no! it must have been because I was jealous!" she shrieked in embarrassment as she was pulled along with Jaune, thanks to the thread that connected them.

"Oh, my Gods! Oh, my Gods! Oh, my Gods! I am sorry!"

To this day, Pyrrha still had no idea how she could have thrown that axe as a spirit. But it was not that last time it would happen, for whenever a girl with impure intentions tried to move in on Jaune, strange occurrences involving anything metal would happen and they would run away in fear.

And legend has it, that after every strange occurrence, you could almost hear the wind screaming...

"I'M SORRY!"

* * *

 **And scene, well here is Chapter VII of Restart. I am sorry for the long wait I have been busy with moving, and university and assignments that I've barely had any free time to work on this. But I can assure you all that I will continue to work on these stories that you all love and write them as quickly and efficiently as possible. Also, I will be updating Ascension, Destroyer and Rider soon, hopefully.**

 **But now that Jaune and Pyrrha are aware of the Grimm King, what will this mean for our heroes? What will the Grimm King do with his new-found power and how has this affect Jaune's Plans? And how did the Grimm King follow them?**

 **Find out next time in Chapter VIII:** **Return to the Halcyon Days**


	8. Chapter VIII: Return to the Halcyon Days

RWBY: Restart

When the world was destroyed and all that he had ever known was taken from him. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future...just not the way he expected.

 **Just a quick note, the second chapter of Restart is now up on** **Endless Possibilities: Reboot by Bored and Drunk or JC of the Corn, depending on which name he goes by. Check it out, it's a great story about the different realities, including this one, of Jaune Arc being watched by the RWBY Crew. Also, the Title of this chapter has changed from Beacon Days to Return to Halcyon Days, as I find that it has more meaning. Being that Halcyon translate to a period that was idyllically happy and peaceful.**

* * *

Chapter VIII: Return to the Halcyon Days

* * *

The fallen ruins of Beacon Academy crumbled and tumbled as the sounds of roaring and gunfire littered the air. The sound of grinding metal and pounding footsteps grew louder, as the roar of an unholy beast echoed in the night.

Suddenly the wall of Port's old classroom exploded into rubbles as Jaune soared through the air and smashed into the desks. He quickly shook off the rubble just as a large set of jaws smashed into the remaining desks and reducing them to splinters. But Jaune managed to roll away as he skirted across the floor, as he instantly raised his shield up - that protected him from the bits of wood and rubble that struck against the metal surface of the shield.

He drew Crescent Rose Sniper form from his back and fired at the head of the Dragon. The rounds bouncing off the bone plating and thick leather skin, as the Grimm King turned its head to the man and growled deeply in its throat. Only to open its jaws and release a stream of crimson fire.

Jaune raised his shield again and flooded it with his aura, as the crimson blaze scorched the already destroyed classroom and school. But Jaune held fast as his aura and shield protected him from the blaze. And when the crimson blaze died out, only Jaune stood amongst the charred and scorched remains of the once lively classroom as a clear scorch mark was all that was left.

He glared back as he quickly released the spent ammo clip and replaced it with a fresh one, cocking the gun as he sprinted towards the beast as it released a thunderous roar that shook all of Remnant to its core. All the while, a ghostly figure watched in horror at the carnage that the young man faced. Right as the beast snapped its terrible jaws...

* * *

Pyrrha's eyes shot open as she bolted up from the bed and breathed in rapid bouts of breath. A cold sweat over her form as she gripped the sheets of her bed tight. She placed a hand on her face as she tried to calm her nerves and settle the rapid beating of her heart.

A soft snore broke her trance as she looked to her left and spied the sleeping form of her teammates, as Nora rested comfortably on her bed splayed all over the mattress while one of her feet was poking Ren in the nose. Not that it seemed to bother the boy, as he rested peacefully on the bed. She smiled softly as she looked at them, happy to see them alive.

Her gaze turned to the side as she looked upon one bed that was empty, devoid of its owner with the sheets tussled to the side. Pyrrha sighed as knew where its occupant had gone, and where she would most likely find him.

Rising from the bed, she grabbed her clothes, a simple pair of long black leggings and a red sleeveless tank top and silently crept out the door.

It had been a week since the battle in the Emerald Forest, with the appearance of the Chimaera and Jaune fighting back the beast while she got the others to safety. For the safety of the students, the teachers had placed all other classes on hold until the staff was positive that there were no more creatures lurking the forest.

Not that they would find anymore, as Jaune suspected that it was really sent by the Grimm King - not Salem, to test his skill and gauge his power. Still, the recent event had caused worry for the time travellers. If the Grimm King had also been reborn into this timeline...

Who else followed them?

Luckily in the week that classes were suspended, there had been no other attacks or surprises and classes could now resume and start off the school year. And just like last time, Jaune and Ruby were made leaders of their respective teams, Team JNPR and RWBY were still formed. Just slightly different from the original timeline.

Now all they needed to do was keep them from breaking up again.

Opening the door slightly to the rooftop she came across a rather familiar view, as Jaune was swinging his massive sword left and right in perfect arches. The metal whistling through the air, as he swung the blade with intense focus and precision. A testament to the many years he had spent honing his skill and technique.

Tied around the sword were heavy blocks of wood that weighed down the blade even more, along with weights tied to his arms and legs. Small droplets of sweat were beginning to form on his brow, as he continued swinging the sword in its repetitive motion.

She took the moment to just watch as she drifted back to their first night on this rooftop so many years ago. Jaune admitting to his fake transcripts, his moment of stubborn pride and the apology he made before asking for her help. It was one of the few precious moments she cherished in her life, or rather her former life as she now lived through two of them.

With a final yell, Jaune slashed his blade as a large gust of wind blew away any gravel and dust off the rooftop and into the air. He breathed in steady calm breaths as a small smile tugged at the end of his lips.

"So Pyrrha, are you enjoying the show?" Pyrrha jumped slightly before opening the door fully.

"How'd you know I was here?" she asked as Jaune placed the sword on the edge of the roof and removed his weights.

"You don't live for as long as I did without developing a few senses. I could practically hear you coming up the stairway five minutes ago, I just wanted to see what you would do. No doubt wanting to check out all this **_Prime Arc material_** ," Pyrrha chuckled as she rolled her eyes.

"Really? You're going with that fake bravado, I thought you grew out of it years ago?" she said as Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, last time I checked, my fake bravado was what drew you to me in the first place?" he said with a confident smirk as Pyrrha returned her own.

"No~, it was because you were the only person that didn't know a thing about me that caught my attention, the bravado thing came later," she said as Jaune rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that," he said and leant against the edge of the roof.

Pyrrha followed suit as they both just stared at the slowly rising sun. The sky slowing turning from dark blues to a mixture of orange and reds as the sunlight slowly bled into the sky. It's light then travelling across the emerald forest to the city of Vale as they both just stared at the sight in wonder.

"It's all so...surreal, isn't it?" Jaune said as they both stared at the city.

"The last time any of us saw a view like this was before the Invasion, and before you went off to fight Cinder." Pyrrha lowered her head slightly as he continued.

"I never thought I would get to see it like this, alive and undamaged. Yet I don't know whether I should cry in grief or vomit in disgust, knowing what's about to happen. It just feels so...wrong...knowing that I am alive, while everyone else I knew is long since gone. And yet here I am, standing here while they are dead in that Gods Forsaken Time, it just doesn't feel right." He looked to his left, towards the place he would meet his end...

The Forever Forest.

"I know what you mean, Jaune," Pyrrha said as he turned back to her, a sad smile on her face as she looked towards Ozpin's Tower.

"Ever since coming back to this time, I've had this feeling that I shouldn't be here. I mean I failed to stop Cinder at the tower - which led to my death - and I failed to reach out to you when you need me the most. And it was because of me that you never let go and find someone else. How could I be chosen to come back, when someone else should have? Like Ruby or Ren or even Nora, it just doesn't make sense..." she sighed as she looked at her hands, Jaune placing his above her own as they held each other tight.

"I guess the Gods just have a sick sense of humour, either that or we were the only ones left..." he said as he shook his head. "In any case, it doesn't matter, so long as we are together..." he said as Pyrrha remained silent and looked at their laced fingers. The warmth that radiated from his hand brought her both comfort and confusion.

"Jaune?" she asked as she looked at him in the eyes. "What are _**we**_?" he looked confused.

"No, not the time travel thing, that's beyond us. I mean, what are _**we**_ as a... well you know?" she asked as Jaune blinked and then understood.

"Oh...uh...geez, I didn't even think about that." He said as he used his free hand to scratch the back of his head.

"I mean, I know we're partners and I know how you feel about me. The kiss was kind of obvious," he said as both blushed at the memory of their kiss. "But...as for _**us**_...I don't know? I mean I spent years grieving over your death - that I hated myself for not giving you the chance and for not noticing how you felt about me." He sighed as he looked down at their hands and held her hand in his.

"And yet, I just wonder if these feelings I have for you now are because of guilt, or if they're something else that has always existed. I just don't know..." he sighed as looked off to the tower as he and Pyrrha stared in absolute silence.

"Well...You know how I feel about you, and I can understand the confusion you must be feeling right now. I mean I did never tell you that I _**loved**_ **_you_** in the old timeline, so I don't expect you just say the same to me right away. That wouldn't be fair to you," she said as he nodded.

"So, how about this, we take things slow and See where it ends up? If you truly feel the same way I do about you, then we'll go from there and make a relationship out of it. And if you don't, then I understand, and we'll still be friends, deal?" she said as Jaune looked at her in the eyes and then nodded.

"Deal"

They remained in silence as Pyrrha placed her head on his shoulder and they watched the sun rising over the mountain tops. For the moment, the two had forgotten about what would come next, or why they were here at all. For now, they just stared at the sunrise and watched its beauty for the first time in a long time.

"...Uh Oh," Jaune suddenly said as Pyrrha looked confused.

"What?"

"I just remembered something,"

"What is it?" she asked as Jaune looked back to her as his face became all scrunched up.

"First class we have today...is Ports..." Pyrrha too stared before she scrunched up her face as well. The memory of the old man's lectures still burned into the minds as they feared going back into that classrooms.

"Well...maybe it won't be so bad this time?" she said with a hopeful voice that fell on deaf ears as Jaune only gave her a disbelieving look.

* * *

Four Hours Later – Ports Classroom

* * *

"Monsters! Deeeemons! Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as **prey**! Ha-ha!"

...it was bad...it was so bad that there were a number of times Jaune wanted to bash his head into the desk - he was afraid that he'd break the damn thing! A subtle glare to his partner and he could tell she was faring no better in the portly man's classroom.

"I'm sorry~" she whispered to her partner as the boy only groaned and rested his head back on the desk. It had been only a few minutes into the day and already Jaune was regretting his decision to come to school.

After their touching moment on the rooftop, Jaune and Pyrrha had decided to head back to their room so that they could get ready for the day. And just like last time, they were almost late as they spent the first half of the morning sorting out their room. The room arrangement was small with only four beds, but they had been able to work around it the first time, but this time there were a few changes.

Like Jaune and Pyrrha's bed is a bit closer, like Ren's and Nora's. Jaune had said it was to make the room more efficient. But Jaune and Pyrrha had ulterior motives as they were set on getting Ren and Nora close to together.

If not for them, then for the chance for those two to find the happiness that alluded them in a time long ago.

They then spent the remaining time they had left to get to know each other, their hobbies and their ambitions. Pyrrha and Jaune already knew, but not this version of Ren and Nora. They managed to get to know each other well, like Nora's favourite food was Pancakes and her favourite animal was a sloth. Duh. And that she and Ren had basically grown up together ever since they were kids.

Jaune knew however not to press too far into that territory, as he knew the reason they grew up together was that they were all they had left together.

Jaune still remembered the fear he felt when they fought against the Nuckelavee back in Ren's hometown and he knew how much of a touching subject it was, as that monster was responsible for killing both his mother and father.

The only comfort he took was knowing that one day his friend would have vengeance for his family. But for now, he needed to make sure that they survive the Beacon Invasion and the Return of the Grimm King

So, after sorting out the room and getting ready for class, they heard Weiss's familiar shriek as she basically yelled at Ruby for only just telling her that classes start at 9, when it was already 8:55 am.

A quick mad dash to the classroom later and they were seated in relatively the same manner, except with Jaune and Pyrrha sitting close to each other. Now they were busy listening to Port drone on about his glory days, and the class barely paying attention. For Jaune and Pyrrha however, it felt like torture as they had to hear the same story again! For the second time! That was just inhumane!

' _Urgh! ...I'd rather be fighting the Chimaera again, then listen to this old windbag ramble!'_ Jaune thought to himself as he rested his head on his hand, his eyes half-lidded as he listened to the man drone on and on.

"Uhhhh... And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely _teeming_ with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses..." he said with a wink as Yang blanched slightly at the older man.

' _...Okay, seeing that a second time was just as creepy as the first,'_ Jaune thought feeling sorry for Yang.

Yang turned around as she noticed Jaune was looking at her. A playful smirk on her lips as she waved her fingers to the boy, who looked confused at the gesture. While Pyrrha felt a blood, vessel forming on her head as she quickly and with great accuracy, flung a rolled-up paper ball and hit her straight between the eyes.

Jaune looked confused as he looked back to the Pyrrha who was whistling nonchalantly to herself as she turned away from the boy's gaze.' _What was that about?'_ he asked himself he stared at the odd scene.

For the past week since he was released from the infirmary, he noted that Yang and Pyrrha seemed to have a small rivalry with each other. If Yang was too close to him, Pyrrha would place herself even closer to him, if Yang threw him a note with a flirt in it, Pyrrha would snatch it from his hands, rip it to shreds and throw it in the fire.

Where the fire came from in the first place Jaune had yet to figure out?

He couldn't for the life of him understand why it was Yang of this time had developed an interest in him - when the Yang of the previous time would only stand his presence because of his friendship with Ruby. Maybe it was because he didn't make a bad impression on her this time, or maybe it was because he protected Ruby from the Chimaera?

Or more than likely, unknown to him, it was due to his new timelines physic that drew her attention to him.

Whatever the case, it was odd, to say the least. And while this rivalry that Pyrrha had with her was confusing to the boy, they were of course still friends, as Pyrrha still remembered the Yang of her time supporting her for her feelings for him.

She just felt Jealous that Yang would flirt with her crush, that's all.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the _very world_!" Port continued as one of the students let out an overenthusiastic cheer, before settling down out if embarrassment.

' _...Who the heck was that?'_ Jaune thought as he didn't remember that kid being in the class. He cast his gaze over to Weiss as he noticed she was staring at Ruby who was not paying attention in class.

 _'Which means soon Ruby will tick Weiss off, Weiss will fight the Boarbatusk and then have the small argument between themselves and makeup in the end,'_ Jaune said to himself as he rested his head on his palm. ' _I guess I can catch some shut-eye, no point in watching this,'_ he said as Ruby continued to goof off.

"In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my _sheer_ tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!" Port said as he laughed with a portly smile on his face.

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honourable!" Ruby is balancing an apple on a book with her pencil held only by her finger while making a silly face.

"A true Huntsman must be dependable!" Ruby has fallen asleep again in the first class of the year.

"A true Huntsman must be strategic, well educated, and wise!" Ruby is not-so-subtly, picking her nose, much to Weiss' building anger. Jaune's eyes become half-lidded as his head slips slightly off his palm.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Weiss finally had enough was about to raise her hand when suddenly a loud thump resonated throughout the classroom, followed by a "Damn it!" as everyone turned their attention to Jaune, who now had his face filmy planted in the desk with his arm still stretched out from holding his head up.

"Mister Arc!" the man bellowed out as Jaune cursed mentally in his head,

' _Crap! I wasn't supposed to do anything at this point! Shit!'_ he looked up as he smiled sheepishly."Yes? Professor Port?" he said as he raised his head up to the man.

"Do you find my lessons boring?" he asked as Jaune merely stared at the man.

' _I honestly don't know how to respond without telling him the truth?'_ he thought as he merely decided to shrug his shoulders. "Uh...no?" he said as the man merely chuckled as patted a large metal cage that was in the room.

"Good, then you wouldn't mind demonstrating to the class what it means to be a huntsman?" he said as Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other as confusion was present on their faces. "Come young man! And face your opponent!" he said as red eyes glared out from the cage.

Jaune sent Pyrrha one last glance before he shrugged and left to get his gear. When he returned, he was wearing his armour and weapons as he stood in the middle of the large classroom, that was shaped like a stadium arena.

' _Well this is just great, I managed to fuck up another event in the time stream, now what will happen to Weiss and Ruby?'_ he thought as he spared a gaze over to the two, as Weiss was looking at him in disappointment and Ruby was waving at him. He sighed as he grabbed the handle to Retribution.

 _'Oh well, cross that bridge when we come to it...why can't time travel just be easier?'_ he thought as looked at the man.

"Ah! I see you are a user of large weaponry! That may not be the best decision when facing an opponent of this size!" the man said as he held his own Blunderbuss/Axe in his hands.

Jaune, however, merely ignore the man as he stabbed the sword into the ground and twisted the blades handle. The sword started to make a shifting noise, as the inner blade rose from the large blade. But unlike last time, it stopped mid-way, just enough for Crocea Mors to be exposed in the centre of the blade.

He then removed Crocea from its rest and held the blade in his hands. He looked over to the students as Ruby had stars in her eyes as she looked at the hidden features of Retribution. He smirked as he held the blade and looked it over.

Crocea Mors, his old partner from a time long ago.

Before coming to Beacon, he had the blade modified and upgraded to the one he had in the future. But substitute the metal that was originally Pyrrha's for a similar but stronger metal. Memories of the blade piercing the Grimm Kings heart before snapping in two crossed his mind as he held the blade in his hands.

"An interesting weapon of choice Young Arc, no doubt you favour the classics as well?" Port said as Jaune nodded.

"Something like that," He said as he placed the shield on his forearm. Locking it in place with the handle of the blade sticking out of his wrist. He then slid back into a fighter's stance and nodded to the teacher who grinned and smashed his axe against the lock, releasing the Boarbatusk from its cage.

The Boarbatusk burst out of the cage as it snorted at the boy in front of him as Jaune merely held the sheath of the blade while keeping the blade itself sheathed. The two stared at each other before the beast roared and spun towards the boy. Jaune, however, didn't move as the beast came barrelling towards him, only at the last second did he deploy the shield as the beast slammed into the metal.

Jaune was pushed back slightly as the beast continued to spin on top of the metal before Jaune bashed his shield to the side and flung the Boarbatusk across the room, slamming painfully into the wall.

"Hoho! A head-on approach! How valorous!" he said as Jaune merely smirked and continued to have his shield up.

The boarbatusk shook off its stupor and glared at the boy. It then curled up again as it sped towards the boy, who this time sidestepped and allowed the boar to slam into the other end of the arena.

"Go! Jaune!" Nora called out, as she pumped her fist in excitement.

"Represent Team JNPR," Ren said calmly as he waved a small flag with the JNPR initials on the flag.

"Where did you get that?" Pyrrha asked as he pointed to Blake who had with her more flags, ones with both JNPR and RWBY embroidered on the fabric waving them slightly.

Apart from that moment, Jaune returned to the fight as he decided to quickly end this. Waiting for the right moment, the Boarbatusk spun rapidly in one place before it launched itself at high speed towards him. Just when the Boarbatusk was in front of him, he brought his shield up and sent a pulse of aura through the metal, sending the boar flying back and hitting the wall.

Only for Jaune to draw his Crocea and flung it at the Grimm. The sword impaling the Grimm straight through the stomach as it let out a death squeal before falling limp on the wall.

The class was silent as Jaune walked over to the wall and withdrew his sword from the Grimm as it slowly disintegrated into ashes.

"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are _indeed_ in the presence of a true Huntsman-in-training!" Jaune bows slight as Weiss glares at him and then at Ruby who cowers slightly from her gaze. The bell suddenly went off as Port noticed the time.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!" he said as everyone began to leave.

Weiss however, shoved past Ruby as she barged out of the room. Ruby looked concerned as she followed her partner out of the room. "What's her problem?" Nora asked as Jaune and Pyrrha shared a glance with each other. They nodded as they followed them out of the classroom.

* * *

Beacon Courtyard

* * *

"Weiss!" Ruby calls out as she chases after the white heiress, who either ignored her or just didn't care. "Weiss please wait up!" she called out again as Weiss turned around.

"What?" she said with a harsh tone of her voice as the Red wearing Huntress finally caught up.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you being-?" she started to say before Weiss scoffed at her.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with _you_? You're supposed to be a leader, and all you've been so far is a nuisance!" she said as Ruby looked shocked.

"What did I do?" she said as Weiss just glared at her.

"That's just it - you've done _nothing_ to earn your position! You or that Country Bumpkin Arc! Back in the forest, you acted like a child and you've only continued to do so! Not to mention when you went off by yourself and nearly got killed by that beast! If it hadn't been for Arc you'd have been dead by now! I just can't understand how you two were chosen as Leaders instead of me! None of you takes this seriously! Maybe I can believe Arc was chosen because of his skill, but you! I can't understand!?"

"Weiss, where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about 'working together'? I thought you believed in acting as a team." She said as Weiss just glared.

"Not a team led by you! I've studied and trained and quite frankly, I deserve better. Yet here you two are goofing off or sleeping during class and yet somehow you still made leaders, it's infuriating!" She turns her back to Ruby, trying to reach out but dropping her hand with the following words.

"Ozpin made a mistake, on both of you!" She called out as she walks away, while Ruby looks dejected and slumps her shoulders. From afar Jaune and Pyrrha watched the scene as they knew that this would happen, just slightly different.

"You okay with what she said Jaune?" Pyrrha asked as Jaune shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm fine, at this point in time Weiss still believed that because of her name she deserved everything. It's not until she talks to Port that she begins to accept Ruby as a leader and tries her best to support her. We just need to give it time, she'll come around eventually." He said as she nodded.

"Though I have to agree with her a bit, you shouldn't be sleeping in class - Even if it is Ports class. You need to be more careful. We've already changed too much of the time stream, who knows what will happen now?" she said as Jaune nodded.

"I know, but man I always hated his classes. I had a dream once that my skull was being ripped out of my head and beaten to death with,"

"That doesn't sound physically possible?"

"That's exactly what I was screaming," he said as he leant on the pillar.

Jaune then noticed Ozpin walking up to her as he seemed to be comforting her. "Looks like Ozpin's got this, and we need to go, we have goals to achieve..." he said as both he and Pyrrha nodded and they turned away from the courtyard, never knowing the quick glance Ozpin sent as he observed the two before focusing back on Ruby.

* * *

Hours Later – Vale City

* * *

Loud muffled music reverberated outside a large structure as patrons and party-goers stood outside 'The Huntsman's Club one of the best nightclubs in Vale. Or it used to be, see this wasn't the original club, as the original had been destroyed in a bizarre accident that rendered all his men unconscious and destroyed his place of business.

That's what Junior claimed to the insurance company.

It was in reality destroyed by Yang Xiao Long, who had come to him looking for information. See, Junior wasn't just a successful nightclub owner, he was also the best information broker anywhere in Sanus. Junior had connections, he had resources, he had people that he could rely on to gather information that he could use to barter with police or earn himself a quick mint.

Yes, Junior was the best person to go to if you needed men or information.

Tonight, however, would be a night that would change his life as the large black doors as two figures stood at the entrance, one was a figure draped in a cloak of deep scarlet with sections of pure black armour poking from the edges of the cloak, while the other was draped in a cloak of pure darkness with sections of dark grey armour could be seen within the gaps of the cloak.

Both figures looked at each other as they nodded and walked towards the bar.

An air of mystery and danger surrounded them as they walked across the dance floor. Patrons sparing them weird glances before going back to the party, while the men Junior employed all had weary glances as they watched the two until they reached the bar.

"Are you two old enough to be here?" he asked before the man in black placed huge wad of Lien on the counter. Junior stared before he shrugged and took the money off the counter. "What can I get you?" he asked as the one in the black cape raised its hand from the cape and gestured for a drink.

" **Strawberry Sunrise, leave out the straw, no umbrella,"** he said as his voice was distorted by a filter of some sorts.

Junior stared at them as he was wary of strangers entering his club. Though cautious, he still poured two drinks as he set them on the counter. The hooded man took the drink in his hand, while his partner looked around the room, as the henchman eyed the two cautiously. The man partially drew back his hood and revealed what looked like the bottom half of a monster, as the mask opened its 'mouth' and downed the drink.

"I'm assuming you're here for something else, being dressed the way you are?" Junior said as the man drew his lower mouth back into the shadow of his hood and placed the glass back on the counter.

" **Junior Xiong, correct? You're one of the biggest information brokers in the city from what I've been told..."** he said as Junior moved around from the bar and walked over to them.

 **"Let's just say the reason we are here is that we have a _'business proposition'_ we would like to discuss with you. One that needs to be done in private."** The man said as he gestured his head to the patrons. **"So, you need to get them to leave, calmly I might add, no need for a panic,"** he said as he sipped the drink.

Junior, however, was unfazed as he crossed his arms, "And why the hell would I want to do that? Business is good tonight, so why the hell should I?" he said as the man shrugged his shoulders

" **Well we could just talk out in the open, but..."** he moved his cloak back slightly to reveal a handgun under his cloak. **"You wouldn't want to have to rebuild this place again now, would you? Especially after what happened last time,"** Junior glared but then gestured to the DJ and signal him to cut the music.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, unfortunately, something has come up and we need you to all vacate the premises. The Club will be open tomorrow night, so everybody out" he said as everyone looked confused. "NOW!" they got the message and hurried out of the club. The masked men chuckled as he swirled the contents of his drink.

" **You didn't have to be so rude, you could have just asked nicely after all,"** he said until he heard guns cocking behind them as he and his partner looked behind them to see Juniors men sounding them with guns trained on them.

 **"Of course, you are the boss after all,"**

"Now, tell me one good reason why I shouldn't fill you two full of dust and throw you out into the gutters?" the two seemed unfazed as they looked at each other while the black one shrugged.

" **We mean you no harm, Mister Xiong,"** the person in the dark red cloak said, and from the sounds of it, she was a woman, even with the distortion from a filter. **"We merely wanted to make a business deal with you and your associates,"** she said as the man in black placed his glass on the counter and leant forward.

" **We would like you to work _for_ us,"** he said as the room was silent.

No one said a thing until a small chuckled began to resonate from the bar. Junior began to chuckle, before it turned into full-on laughter, followed by everyone else on the club. The two individuals unfazed by the mocking laughter as they merely stared at the laughing crowd as Junior signalled them to stop.

"That's funny kids," he said as he wiped a tear from his eye. "Why don't you two run along home and we forget all this, so I don't have to put a bullet in each of your heads for spoiling a good night of business," he said as the cloaked figure ignore him and continued to drink from the glass. This ticked off Junior as he clicked his tongue.

"Hey! I am talking to you!" he said as he reached over and grabbed his shoulder.

Faster than he could blink, the strange managed to punch him in the face, bend his arm behind his back and then stabbed a large knife into his palm straight into the counter. The pain didn't even register in Junior's mind until he felt the knife piece through his palm and stabbed him into the counter. He screamed bloody murder as he was now on his knees with his arm bent backwards behind, with the palm pinned to the countertop.

It had happened so fast, that the strangers hood was blown off to reveal he was wearing a mask.

"ARGH! FUCK! MY ARM!" he screamed as his men jumped back in shock.

They were about to shoot the man until a quick slash passed by them and all their guns were cut cleanly in half. The one responsible was the crimson cloaked woman as the hood fell off to reveal the mask of a bronze Spartan helmet that completely covered her head. In her hands were two Kopis, as she wielded both in her hands.

The man who pinned Junior was wearing a mask that looked like that of an angular Knight with the lower half a skull, as the mask completely covered the user's entire head, with the eyes having a strange red glow resonating from the sockets of its eyes.

 **"That's the funny thing about Aura,"** the man said as Junior continued to scream in pain. **"It can protect you from nearly everything, barring poisons and age. But it can't seem to protect you from surprise attacks, unless you are aware of the attack"** he said as Junior grunted and groaned in pain as the man grabbed him by his hair as he looked at Junior straight in the eye as the man flinched back at the red glow that resonated from his eyes.

" **Now, as I was saying, I would like to propose a business deal with you. One you _cannot_ afford to decline. You continue running your operations the way you see fit while keeping all the profits to yourself. But no selling drugs to kids got it! However, anything regarding information you send to us, anything at all. Rumours, secrets even a fucking whisper, you send it straight to us. Do this, and we won't resort to burning everything you own to the ground. Speak a word of this deal to anyone else, say Roman for example..."** he said as Junior's eyes widened, as the man raised his gauntlet as a long blade erupted just an inch close to his eye.

" **Then you'll lose more than just your network,"** he said as he held the blade close to the man's eye who was sweating profoundly across his brow.

"Good Grief, another one who wants to ruin our favourite hang out," a voice said as the man stopped. "Seriously, first that Blond Bimbo, now two these freaks dressed up for Halloween," an identical voice as he turned to see two girls walking towards them. One was a girl dressed in red with two claws attached to her wrists, while the other was dressed in white with blades attached to her ankles. The man narrowed his eyes at the two as they marched towards them.

"Listen here assholes, we personally don't care what you do to this prick, but he's the only one who knows how to make a decent drink in this town." The white girl said as she clicked her feet and deployed the blades.

"So how about you and your friend fuck off, before we have to get violent?" the red wearing girl said as she armed the blades on her wrists.

The man only stared as he let go of Junior's hair and pulled the knife out of his hand. **"This ought to be interesting,"** he wiped the blood off his blade. **"Nemesis?"** he said as the woman in red turned to him. **"Would you like to deal with them?"** he said as the woman nodded and unclasped her cloak throwing it to the side as she stood before the two.

The woman called Nemesis was dressed in what looked like dark red leather armour, with segments of pure black armour stitched into the seams as it radiated with a malice intent. The armour was Greek in design, like that of the Ancient Spartans of Mistral warriors with a dark red scarf wrapped around her neck. At her waist was two more Kopis Blades as they rested in their sheaths, along with small daggers placed around her body.

 **"You may want to pay attention,"** The man said to Junior as he cradled his hand while the stranger went to the counter and prepared himself another drink.

The woman held up her two blades as she glared from the darkness of her helmet as the two sped towards her. Melanie - the girl in white - swept own low to strike her legs. While the girl in red - Milta - attempted to slash at her face. However, Nemesis easily brought up her blades and blocked both attacks at the same time. The two continued to send a barrage of strikes against her, only for Nemesis to block every one of them.

Twisting her body, Nemesis landed a solid kick on Melanie as she went sailing back from the blow and straight into a set of tables, while simultaneously blocking twins strikes from Milta's blades. But she quickly brought her knee straight into her stomach as Milta doubled over in pain, before being kicked across the room.

However, Melanie quickly sped towards her as she went for a series of high and low kicks to throw her off balance. But Nemesis was too quick as she not only blocked each attack, she was able to force her back as well.

Before Melanie could even register what was happening, she was quickly struck in the face by the pommel of Kopis blade and then thrown straight into the floor of the club. Nemesis quickly drawing her other Kopis blade and impaling the blade near in her dress. Then knocking her out with a quick punch to the head.

"SISTER!" Milta screamed as she raced across the dance floor, her arms moving faster than ever before as she attempted to teach this person a lesson for harming her sister.

The thugs who were standing around were about to interfere when suddenly a black blur appeared in front of them and every one of them fell to the floor, groaning in pain, but still alive. With the strange man standing over them as he cracked his knuckles menacingly.

 **"Interfere and you're dead..."** the man said as he held another drink in his hand. Opening his face mask and downing another drink.

Back with the fight, Milta was now flying off the handle as she mindlessly attacked the Spartan wearing stranger, as she threw everything she had at the woman. But none of it fazed her, as she easily evaded her attacks, sent a quick punch to her stomach and then slipped her over her body - right before she kicked her in the back and sent her spinning into the wall. The force of the impact rendered the girl unconscious before Nemesis threw her spare Kopis at the girl and pinned her to the wall via the gap in her claws.

Nemesis looked around at the stunned audience as she withdrew her blades from the twins and walked over to the bar and leant against the counter.

" **Thank you, Nemesis,"** the man said as he placed the empty non-alcoholic drink on the counter and walked back to Junior who was still staring in shock at what had just transpired.

 **"Now, where were we? Oh yes, you're working for us now."** He then pulled out a blank scroll as he placed it at the man' feet **. "I will expect a report within the next twenty-four hours, don't even attempt to trace the signal or the device will explode. And if Roman hears about this, we'll be back to finish the job,"** he said as they wrapped their cloaks back on as they went to leave.

"D-Do you really think you'll get away with this!? Attacking me! My Club! My business! M-My men will-!?" he stopped as the man opened his fist and dropped several or so pins in front of him as the man's eyes widened in shock.

" **Recognise them? Those belonged to all your lieutenants that you have stationed around the city, don't worry they're not dead, but they won't be coming into work for a while. Point is, we got that done in an hour before coming here, want to see what we can do with a whole afternoon?"** he turned back as he pointed a heavy black revolver at the man. **"Just so we're clear, we're not asking you to work with us...We're telling you."** He fired two shots at each of them narrowly missed his head.

Junior was shaking with fear as he watched the two about to leave.

His eyes wandering over to his men, Melanie and Milta as they were all face first on the ground, groaning in pain as they were feeling the ass-kicking they just received. He had never dealt with anyone like them before, it was if they knew everything about him from the moment they walked in, like the devil's advocates had just walked into his bar and claimed ownership of his soul. For the first time in his entire life, he was terrified.

"W-Who are you?" he asked as the man stopped and looked back to him.

" **...Call me** **Rudianos...the God of War,"** he said as he drew his hood back on his head and vanished from the club. Silence swept over the club as none had anything to say.

"...Hey, boss?" one of the goons said weakly as he faced the man with pain on his face, "I don't mind working for him," he said before falling unconscious.

Meanwhile, far from the club, the two figures stood on a rooftop as they gazed upon the city, **"Phase One is complete, we sent our message and we now have access to Juniors Network. Now we wait for Roman to make his move before heading into Phase Two when the Beacon Dance begins."** He then turned to Nemesis as she stood far away from the ledge as she looked off aimlessly towards Beacon. She took off her helmet as her short red hair fluttered gently in the breeze.

Rudianos reached for his head and unclasped the latched on his helmet and removed them from his face. "Pyrrha," Jaune said as he moved towards her. "I know this is difficult and I know it's not what you expected. But we need to do this if we want any chance of stopping Cinder and Salem before the Grimm King rises," he said as she nodded.

"I know Jaune, I know...it's just...I never imagined that we would have to resort to tactics like this. Hiding in the shadows, hurting people like that...that's not I thought what being a Huntress would be, I thought we'd be better than that?" she said as Jaune looked away slightly while sighing. He walked over as he sat on the edge of the rooftop and gestured her to sit as well. Both now just sitting on the rooftop as they watched the city lights shine in the night.

"I understand what you mean, to be honest, I can't stand what we have to do either. It's not what I thought being a huntsman would be like. But the future I was a part of tore down my perception of what it meant to be Huntsman and me realise why people like Qrow and Ozpin did the things they did. The lying, the secrecy, the sacrifices, all of it to protect humanity and yet they _**failed**_. I swore that I would never be like them, that I would never make the same mistakes they made..." he chuckled as he shook his head.

"But the funny thing is I'm just like them now. The things I had to do, the sacrifices I had to make in order to keep us alive. I broke my word and became just like them..." He looked down at his hands as Juniors blood was still on his hands.

"In that timeline, the blood that was on my hands...I thought it would never come off, that it would stain me for the rest of my life. But as time went on, I just learnt to live with it. I learned to accept the darkness that exists in this world..." Pyrrha placed her hand on his as she looked at him.

"We could still tell them, let them know what's coming and prove it to them. I'm sure Ozpin would believe us?" she said as Jaune merely shook his head.

"As much as I know that's true we can't, if we tell Ozpin he may do something that will jeopardise everything or worse tell Ironwood who will take drastic measures and make everything worse. Ozpin is a man of many secrets and he's known for making _**questionable**_ decisions. We can't tell them anything until it starts when things really start to change...it's the only way" he removed his hand as he looked over at the tower.

"There's more to it that than just the effects, isn't it Jaune?" she said as he looked away. "Why is it that you don't want him to know?" she said as he sighed.

"...To be truthful...I just can't trust him anymore...after all the lies he told us, the fact that he got you killed...how can I ever trust him again? How can I ever trust any of them again?"

"Jaune, you know it wasn't his fault I died. He tried to make us go but I stayed anyway. I got myself killed. You're just angry that they lied to you, that they didn't tell you what they were planning to do with me. That I couldn't tell you," he shook his head as he stood up.

"That doesn't make it any better, and it doesn't change my reasons...Ozpin _cannot know_...not yet, not until everything's in place. Not until everyone is safe, not until I know we can change the future..." he placed his helmet back on as the eyes flashed red.

 **"For now...we have work to do..."** Pyrrha stared as she sighed and placed her helmet back on. Her own eyes flashing blue as they drew their hoods over their heads and disappearing into the night.

That night was the first of many that would be needed to stop what was to come. Ren, Nora and the others would never find out till much later, but by then, the deeds would be done and their actions would have consequences. It was necessary, they would argue, that they needed to make the choices that others could not make.

But whether or not it was the right choice was yet to be seen.

* * *

Omake: Dreams

* * *

Pyrrha stared at Jaune's sleeping face as she floated by his bedside in the inn that they stopped at. It had only been a few hours since that bizarre incident where an axe had mysteriously fallen off the mantle place and nearly decapitated a floozy that was attempting to hit on Jaune. Feeling that they were responsible somehow, the others decided to call it quits early tonight and head off to bed straight after dinner.

After watching Jaune bathe again, she still blushed at the knowledge, she tried to figure out what exactly caused the axe to fall. She knew it had something to do with her, but what Pyrrha couldn't understand was how she did it? She was dead, she shouldn't have access to her aura or her semblance. She was dead. How was it possible?

"Was it something like Poltergeist? Did I move it with my mind, or was it because of my emotions?" she said to herself as she looked at her hands and how they wavered slightly. "Do I have any other powers? My father used to tell me stories about spirits when I was a child..." she looked at Jaune as he slept in the bed.

He was tossing and turning as he was no doubts having another nightmare, the ones he never talked about and the ones that made her continue to regret her decision to sacrifice herself for nothing. She floated down until she was almost sitting on the bed. Seeing him like this made her wish that she could do something to ease the pain, something that could help.

"...Jaune..." she said as she brushed against the side of his face, suddenly her hand glowed red and images appeared before her.

Images of Beacon still standing appeared before, as Ruby and the others were standing around the fountain and smiled in sun. They all looked slightly older as they laughed and joked with each other about their junior years. Another version of Pyrrha was sitting beside Jaune, as he had his arm around her shoulder.

She instantly removed her hand as she looked at Jaune and herself as the glow solely faded from her hand. "W-what was that!? A memory?" she said but then shook her head. "No...that was a dream...was, was I watching Jaune's dreams?" she then turned back as she noticed that Jaune was calmer now. In fact, he looked almost peaceful now as he slept comfortably in the bed.

"Can I see into Jaune's dreams and influence them only when he's asleep?" she asked herself as she pondered the significance of this discovery.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune suddenly spoke as he rose from the bed, looking around the room. Pyrrha jumped slightly in shock, thinking that Jaune had finally seen her. "Pyrrha?" he said again as he looked around the room as Pyrrha grew hopeful, but noticed that he wasn't looking at her as a sad look came upon on his face.

"...Damn it...it was just a dream," he said as he laid back down and stared at the wall.

"Jaune? It's me, Pyrrha, I am right here!" she said as she tried to touch him again but faded through his chest. "What? But I?" she said the boy continued to stare at the wall as he slowly fell back to sleep. But not before speaking softly as he drifted off.

"...Pyrrha...I miss you..." he said as he finally falls asleep as Pyrrha looked at the boy with both awe and sadness.

"I see...so that is how it's to be? I can't talk to you, but I can ease your pain...I guess that's all I can do, I hope it's enough to heal the pain I've caused you," she said and moved closer to him as she smiled softly. "I'm here Jaune, I'll always be here..." she said as slowly moved her hand and touched the side of his face. The glow returned as she saw images appear before her.

Images of Jaune and Pyrrha hanging around the school, dancing at what she could assume was the senior dance as they laughed and smiled at each other.

Graduating from Beacon Academy, fighting together side by side as they protected each other. Then it showed images of the two of them on a date as Jaune and her walked across a romantic moonlight light, followed by Jaune bending down on one knee and showing her a ring, while the pair embraced themselves followed by a dress of white and the laughter of children.

A small tear came to Pyrrha's eyes, that evaporated into a mist as she watched the boy calmly sleep in his bed. It was small and almost insignificant, but for now, it brought the two a sense of peace that they had not known for a long time.

And that was enough

"Good Night, Jaune,"

* * *

 **And Scene, well here is Chapter VIII of Restart. Sorry for the long wait, I've been working on this and others stories so that I can finally catch up on some of my more popular fanfics. They are still in progress, so please be patient and hope that it is good enough.**

 **Now in this chapter, I wanted to do something different, by showing the drastic decisions that Jaune and Pyrrha would have to make. Originally Jaune was planning to do this alone, for which he would accept. But because I added Pyrrha, it's become more of a Pyrrha struggling to accept what they have to do, and Jaune reassuring her that it's the right choice. Jaune did live a dark life in the future, he was more used to it. Pyrrha was only along for the ride.**

 **Also, I am not jumping them straight into a relationship, because even though Jaune know her feelings for him, He is still confused as he would more than likely feelguiltyt for not noticing her before. So they will attempt to date and figure out their feelings and where they stand in terms of a relationship, hope it works out. Most of the Omakes I make will be set in the past and cannon in this AU. So I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Next time on Restart, Chapter IX: Return to the Forever Falls**


	9. Chapter IX: The Forever Forest Part I

RWBY: Restart

When the world was destroyed and all that he had ever known was taken from him. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future...just not the way he expected.

* * *

Chapter IX: The Forever Forest Part I

* * *

Jaune jumped from rubble to rubble as he dodged the massive jaws of the Grimm King. Crimson fire shooting from its mouth as its breath scorched the grounds he walked on.

Jaune managed to back himself up until he was standing in the centre of Glynda's old combat arena. The old arena was cracked and scorched with the bones of former students as they cracked and crumbled under Jaune's heel. But he had no time to think of the dead, as he stood before the beast as it towered over him.

Sheathing his sword, he thrust his fists forward as Ember Cecelia took shape over his fist and he glared at the beast. He charged at the beast, rockets and shotgun shells flying in the air as he continued to fire at the monster that took away the lives of billions.

The Grimm King recoiling back from the rounds as they pelleted against his hardened skin. But then it roared as blasted a huge stream of fire towards Jaune, who only just managed to avoid the blaze as the arena burned to the ground.

* * *

17 Years Later – New Time Line – Beacon Combat Arena

* * *

Jaune stared at the arena floor as the memory passed his eyes, the damage and the bloodshed that happened - or yet to happen - still fresh in his mind as he just stared at the arena floor.

It had by now become a common occurrence for him to relive a memory that he retained from a time that no longer existed. A form of Post-Traumatic-Stress that he had developed over the years his spent in this new timeline. They often varied from small and nostalgic to intense nightmare-inducing moments that was hard to hide from his friends - barring Pyrrha, as she too suffered from similar effects.

Luckily, they had each other to work through the pain, as they relied on each other now more than ever in their lives - to deal with the strangeness of a life that offered peace from a life of war and death.

He shook off its effect as he turned and face Cardin Winchester who stood at the other end of the arena as both boys stood in the centre of the light, while everything else around them was shrouded in shadows.

"The match between Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester will now begin!" Glynda Goodwitch said as both boys nodded and drew their weapons.

Cardin with his Mace and Jaune with Retribution. The sound a buzzer went off as Cardin charged at the boy. Jaune smirked as he held his blade in front of him and blocked his first attack. The larger boy growling in anger that his first attack failed and swung his mace again hoping to land a hit.

But no matter how many times he swung his mace, every single one of them missed.

"Missed me!" Jaune said as Cardin swung again and missed, "Missed me again!" he said as he ducked under another of Cardin's attacks. "Are you purposely hitting the air around me?" he smirked as the boy grew angrier.

"Stop moving around and fight me!"

"And miss that angry look on your face? Not a chance," the larger boy growled and continued to bash his mace against the large sword. From up in the stands, the others watched as Teams RWBY and JNPR watched the match.

"Man, Jaune is pretty good, huh?" Ruby said as she watched the boy duck and weave around the large boy. "But why isn't he attacking him? Why is he just dodging around like that?" she asked as she found the tactic to be odd.

"He's wearing his opponent down," Ren said as she turned to him. "He's purposely making him wear out his energy so he can't focus on his aura to defend himself, that way it will be easier to attack him. It's one of the basic strategies when it comes to facing an opponent," Yang smirked as she watched the two.

"Doesn't look like Cardin got the memo?" The large boy roared in anger and continued to aimlessly swing his mace.

"Stop moving around, you little pest!" he roared as Jaune merely ducked and weaved under his attacks.

"No, I'm good, but you can keep trying to hit me if you want," He said with a cheeky grin as the large boy only grew angrier as he charged headfirst at the boy. While Cardin was attacking, Jaune's mind was somewhere else as he thought back to the day's he would face Cardin in this very ring.

The number of times the larger student would beat him to a pulp were too numerous to count. The infirmary mostly kept a bed reserved for him whenever he had Goodwitch's class. Now, as he was fighting the boy in the very same ring, he noticed how much he had changed since those days. He could instantly spot how sloppy Cardin's attacks were, how unfocused he could be when properly angered and much the boy relied on his size and strength.

Honestly, he felt as if he was facing an untrained child. But then again, to him, everyone around him _**was**_ just a child.

So, he decided to mess with him a bit. Cardin growled as he continued to swing his mace at the boy, who effortlessly avoided all the attacks. "Stop moving!" Jaune then smirked and pointed at the boy.

"Your next line is: If you don't stop moving around, I'm going to kick your ass!"

"If you don't stop moving around, I'm going to kick your ass!" Cardin instantly gasped as Jaune smirked and charged as he quickly spun the blade around and knocked the mace straight out of Cardin's hands.

"W-What!?" Cardin said only to gasp as the pommel of Jaune's sword struck his stomach, followed by a swift kick to the side of his head that sent him spiralling in the air and into the arena wall. His aura dropping to the red as the siren went off.

"Enough! The match is over, the winner is Jaune Arc!" Goodwitch declared as the arena was bathed in light and both fighters stood in the centre of the arena. Glynda walked into the arena as she stood between the boys.

"As you can see students, Mister Winchesters Aura has depleted into the red zone. In a tournament-styled duel, this would indicate that Mister Winchester is no longer suited to fight and the match would be over. Mister Arc, on the other hand, has yet to lose any of his Aura during the match, using superb defensive tactics and wearing out his opponent," she said as Jaune blushed slightly at the praise.

"Though Mister Arc, I would caution you not to be overly confident in any battle. One mistake, no matter how small, could cost you dearly in the long run," she said as Jaune already knew that particular lesson all too well.

"Yes ma'am"

"And Mister Winchester, just because you have the size and strength, does not mean that you can just muscle your way to victory. You are a team leader, after all, you must use your head more in combat," Cardin growled in annoyance and glared at Jaune, who took no notice.

"Remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practising! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!" she said as everyone began to pile out of the room. Cardin shoving his way past Jaune as he left the room.

"He seems pissed," Yang said as Jaune walked up to his friends.

"He'll be fine, he's just sore that his pride got taken down a notch," Jaune said as he watched the boy leave. In his memories, a different Cardin stood by his side as together they faced off against the hordes of Grimm until he sacrificed himself to save Jaune's life.

"In any case, that was cool what you did back there, fearless leader," Nora said as she grinned. "How'd you know what he was going to say next?" she asked as Jaune shrugged.

"I can read people like him very easily, it's just a little gift I have,"

"Do me! Do me! What am I going to say next!?" Jaune raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and looked at Nora.

"Honestly Nora, you are the one person I cannot possibly predict what you will do next," the girl pouted and stood in front of Ren.

"Ren~! Jaune's being a meanie! He won't tell me what I'll say next!" she said as the boy only rolled his eyes.

"It's fine Nora, let's go get some pancakes, okay?" the girl instantly brightened up and dragged the boy away at high speeds, while the other could only stare, shrug and then walk away. Jaune and Pyrrha remained behind as they stood in the empty hallway.

"You enjoyed beating Cardin, didn't you?" the boy shrugged.

"A little, it just felt so different being able to beat him like that. In the old timeline, I wouldn't have been able to even lay a finger on him. Now, I can practically dance around him and still win, time travel is so weird?" he said as Pyrrha nodded. The two then noticed that they were alone as Jaune turned to her.

"So~," Jaune said as she turned to him, "How've you been?" he asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Really? That's the best you can come up with?" he sighed as he turned to her.

"I'm sorry, but things have been pretty quiet since we attacked Junior a month ago and so far, he's kept up his end of the bargain and transferred any information he's received to us. But so far nothing about the White Fang or 'you know _**who**_ ' has shown up. Not even Roman has done anything yet. I think it's this period where everything was quiet until team RWBY discovers Blake's secret and she goes off to fight Roman at the docks next week. So, we got no choice but to wait," He sighed deeply as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Jaune, are you okay? You seem bothered for the past week and I know it has something to do with our mission. Can you tell me what's wrong?" she asked as he sighed and looked at the large glass windows.

"...I hate the waiting...it's the one thing I can't stand about all this, just ... _waiting,_ for everything to happen. I already know what's going to happen and I know that we need to make sure everything follows the same path so that we can catch Cinder in the act and prove to the world of the larger threat. But it's just so hard not wanting to change things ahead of time." he chuckled as he shook his head.

"Knowing what's going to happen I just want to tell everyone about Cinder's plan, march right up to her and snap her neck with my hands. Then go straight to Salem's fortress and cut her head off...but I know that if I change anything too soon there would be major consequences," he held up his hands as he gestured to the right.

"If I stop Cinder right then and now, I would look like nothing more than a murderer with no evidence to support my claim. I would look like a criminal murdering an 'innocent woman' and I know that would be just what Salem would want. And then she would send someone else, they would do things completely different and I'd have no knowledge of how to stop it. I would be putting more lives in jeopardy than I ever would at saving them, one life for another. It's the cruel knowledge of cause and effect..." he then gestured to his left hand.

"But on the other hand, with Grimm King being awake in this timeline, I cannot predict what he'll do next. So far, he's already tried to kill me twice, once when I was a child and the other during the initiation test and I have no doubt he will target me again sometime in the future." Pyrrha nodded at that.

"It would make sense, you were the one to kill him after all. Maybe he wants to eliminate so that there'd be no one to stop him in the future," she said as Jaune nodded.

"Yeah, but why hasn't he just send an army of impossibly strong monsters to finish me off before I got my original strength back. But after the Ursa attack nine years ago, he hadn't done anything until I took the initiation test. Not only that the monsters he's sent to me are much weaker than what I would be expecting. It's almost like he's testing me?"

"Why would he do such a thing?" she asked as Jaune shrugged his shoulders

"I have no idea, but I have no doubt it's not going to be good," they both left the answer lingering in the air before they followed their friends to the cafeteria.

* * *

Beacon Cafeteria

* * *

"So! there we were, in the middle of the night..." an excited voice said as an orange-haired Huntress was telling a story.

"It was daytime," three voices said in a bored tone.

"We were surrounded by Ursai..." Blake was buried in her book, while Yang was hanging off her every word

"They were Beowolves," the exact three voice said in harmony as Ren, Jaune and Pyrrha were correcting the girl.

"Dozens of them!" Ruby listened in awe while Weiss just looked sceptical at her while filing her nails.

"There was only two," they said again as Nora ignored them.

"But they were no match and in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" she said as Ren shook his head.

"She's been having the same recurring dream for the past month now," he said as Yang raised an eyebrow.

'The how come you two know how it ends?" she pointed at Jaune and Pyrrha as they turned to her with dead eye looks

"She's been repeating it for the past _ **month,**_ " they said as Yang only stared at the two. She then shrugged her shoulders as she went back to eating her food.

It had been a month since they had begun their time here at Beacon Academy and so far, the events Jaune and Pyrrha remembered still ran the familiar path, with only a few changes here and there that wouldn't interfere with any major events.

Like Jaune being more competent in his fights with Cardin, paying attention in class and the occasional flirt from Yang. Which as you can imagine, made Pyrrha a little more aggressive in their battles in the Ring.

So far, they had to repair the ring five times after each battle.

Pyrrha obviously holding back as not to hurt her, but still enough to get out her frustration for how easy it was for Yang to express her feelings to Jaune. Something she wishes she could have done in the original timeline.

Speaking of Pyrrha's feelings for Jaune, they had both decided to take the attempt at starting a relationship slowly. Both because they were new to a relationship of any kind and because they needed to sort out how they truly felt about each other, seeing as they never got the chance to explain themselves. But also, because they had to not raise any suspicions with the others if they just suddenly went up and dated.

So, for the past month, they would just hang out together in the Gardens at Beacon or the Library, making it appear as a study session, but rather used it as an excuse to spend most of their time just being together.

At night, they would go up to the rooftops and talk about their experiences in the alternate timeline, consoling each other about what they had seen and Pyrrha helping Jaune to console him of his guilt for what he had done. After they made sure that Cardin and his team were asleep...

With a little help from a sleep gas pellet thrown in their room. They would rather not have Cardin discover their secret before they would have the chance to tell their friends.

On some nights, however, Jaune and Pyrrha went out in their disguises to survey the kingdom for any anomalies that could change the timeline - like the Chimaera and the Enhanced Ursa.

So far nothing like that had occurred, which was a relief on the pair.

When asked where they were, they would often respond they had stayed a bit longer in the Library and forgot the time. Nora would accept that, but Ren always had a more sceptical look about him as he found their behaviour to be odd, but ultimately didn't push it as he felt it was not his right to ask them.

To which they respected him for it.

Fast-forward to now, the group were enjoying themselves in the cafeteria as Jaune absent-mindedly playing with his food. He still found it odd after so many years to eat well-cooked food after growing up with nothing but rations and animal carcases for the past ten years in the future. It made Jaune uncomfortable eating this food when he knew that in a few years, food like this would be scarce to come by later on.

"Jaune?" a voice spoke up as he looked to see Ruby looking at him. "Are you alright, you've been playing with your food for the past five minutes. Are you okay?" she asked as Jaune and Pyrrha shared a glance and he nodded to the small girl.

"I'm fine Ruby, just thinking about an upcoming assignment, nothing to worry about," he said as Ruby was unconvinced.

"Are you sure? Does this have anything to do with Cardin trying to bully you?" she said as Jaune blinked.

"Cardin's been trying to bully me?" he said as they all turned to him.

"Yeah, Cardin's been trying to humiliate you for the past two weeks. How have you not noticed?" Weiss asked as Jaune pondered back.

* * *

Cardin's Attempts Bully Jaune

* * *

Jaune was walking down the hall, a pile of books in his hands as Cardin comes walking ahead of him. A savage grin on the taller teen's face as he quickly knocks them out of his hands. But his grin disappears as Jaune quickly grabs them in mid-air and rebalances them within a small amount of time.

All while looking cool.

Jaune is sitting at a table in the Library when Cardin sneaks up behind him and snatches the chair from under Jaune. But to his surprise, Jaune is sitting mid-air as he manages to balance himself on one foot while looking like he hasn't noticed his chair is missing.

Cardin growled at this as his attempt failed.

The Class were being introduced to the Rocket Propelled Lockers as Cardin notices Jaune standing next to an open one. He carefully sneaks up to the boy intent on shoving him in. Only at the last second does Jaune bend down to pick up a stray lien, causing Cardin to fall into the locker and blast off into the distance.

It took him half 'n' hour to walk back to Beacon.

The final attempt was to pour water on Jaune while he was using one of the stalls as he and his team threw a bucket of water into the stall expecting to hear Jaune cry out in surprise and walk out dripping wet. Only when the stall opened, Jaune was completely dry as he held an umbrella open and smirking as he walked past the stunned team.

"Who is he, Ryoga Sakamoto?" Russell said as Jaune merely walked away in style.

* * *

All Attempts - Fail

* * *

Jaune continued to stare as he shrugged his shoulder, "Eh, I haven't noticed," he went back to eating while the others could only stare at him before they went back to their food.

"Ow! Let go!" a voice cried out as they turned to see Cardin and his team picking on a girl with brown rabbit ears on the top of her head. Jaune and Pyrrha instantly recognised her as Velvet Scarlatina, team member of CFVY and their second-year senior. And just like the last time, she was being picked on by Cardin and his team.

Jaune and Pyrrha narrowed their eyes at this, as they both remembered how Cardin would often pick on Velvet back in their Beacon days. The only reason that he managed to change was that Jaune saved his life from the Ursa and Beacon falling caused the teen to realise the errors of his ways.

"How atrocious, I hate people like that," Pyrrha said as a feeling of nostalgia swelled in her chest. Jaune looked over to Velvet as she was continuously harassed.

"He's not the only one," Blake said on cue as she stared daggers at the boy who was still pulling her ears. Yang shook her head as she watched the scene.

'It must be hard to be a Faunus?" Yang said as she too couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor girl.

"But why doesn't she defend herself? I mean, isn't she a second year?" Ruby asked.

"It's not that simple Ruby, things in the real world aren't just black and white. There is a whole area of grey that no one wants to discern," everyone at the table turned to him.

"If she were to defend herself, despite her reasoning, she would be labelled as a sympathiser with the White Fang. People will just automatically affiliate her with one group and forget about the fact she is just one individual amongst her separate group."

"However, if she doesn't defend herself, she'll be stuck in an endless cycle of abuse and ridicule that it may just send her straight into the arms of those they accused her of," he said as everyone pondered this, while Weiss was sceptical at best.

No doubt due to the relationship that she had with the White Fang targeting her family.

"But, why doesn't anybody just help her? Why can't a human help her?" Ruby asked as Jaune pointed to the cafeteria while grabbing some walnuts from his tray.

"Do you see anyone rushing to her aid? Do you see anyone willing to lift a finger to help her, or do you feel the urge to go and help her?" Ruby looked around and noticed others just turning away from the sight and tried to focus on the food in front of them. She then hung her head as she too didn't feel the urge to go and help her.

"That's what I thought. In this world, it's easier for people to just turn away from the issues rather than face them. Sure, her team would be different, but they're not here right now and she's all alone. It's just how the world is, ignorance and blindness. Things that happen in fairy tales don't come true..." Jaune said as he held the nut in his hand and placed it on the table.

Everyone just stared at the boy as they digested the words he spoke, some finding it hard to believe, others choosing to deny such words and those like Blake and Pyrrha who knew the truth in his words. Society was unfair and unjust and it was a system that was broken and cruel.

Jaune then raised his fist over his head as he smirked and slammed his hand down on the walnut.

However, the walnut shot out from under his palm, ricocheted off a napkin dispenser and clocked Cardin right between his eyes. Forcing the taller teen to let go of the bunny girl's ears as he fell back onto the floor as a large bump grew on his forehead. The walnut carelessly rolling on the ground before cracking open.

Everyone just stared at the scene, before they turned back to Jaune.

"Completely random events on the other hand...that happens," Jaune says with a shrug as he cracks open another nut and eating the small food. Cardin groaned as he got up off the floor and rubbed his head.

"What just happened?" he asked s Russell kneeled to him.

"You got knocked the fuck out!" Cardin growled and turned to Jaune's table as he came marching up to him.

"You! You threw that nut, didn't you!?" he accused as the boy merely shrugged his shoulders.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Cardin. I'm just sitting here enjoying a lovely meal with my friends when one of the Walnuts I was attempting to open simply flew out of my hand and hit you in the head. It was an honest mistake," he said as Cardin growled and went to grab him.

"Why you little-!"

"Is there a problem here?" they turned to see Glynda Goodwitch, as she had just come to take the shift from the previous teacher who was on watch. One who was often okay with students picking on other Faunus students. The boy looked at the teacher and Jaune as he shook his head.

"No ma'am," he begrudgingly said as he and his team moved past and roughly brushed against Jaune, who took no notice and continued to eat his food. She raised an eyebrow at the boy and then walked past them. Followed behind her was Velvet as she quickly passed the table.

Jaune smirked slightly as he went back to eating.

"Hey, Jaune?" Yang said as he looked up at her, "I don't get it, what was up with whole speech and then suddenly deciding to help her?" she asked as the boy looked down as he fiddled with one of the nuts in his palm.

"Who said I helped her? A nut merely flew out of my hand and hit Cardin in the head, it's not like I helped her on purpose or anything? You got no proof," He said as they all looked sceptical at him.

"Besides, if she was more confident there wouldn't really have been a need to," he said as they raised an eyebrow.

"First: I wasn't going to go over there like a Knight in shining armour and rescuing the damsel in distress, that would be an insult to her skill and her pride. Second: It shouldn't have been my problem to fix-" he said as Blake suddenly felt angry at this until Jaune spoke again.

"It should have been the teachers," he said as they looked confused.

"Didn't anyone notice that the teacher who was on duty to supervise us today, I think his name was Professor Mel or something? didn't even try to put a stop to it? He didn't even condemn Cardin for his actions, despite how she loud she was calling out? You think he would have stopped it, but he didn't. If Miss Goodwitch was here earlier, she would not have tolerated it and Cardin would have face consequences." He said as they realised he was right.

"Right now, we are just students training to fight monsters and criminals. Yet that teacher did nothing to stop their bullying. If we don't learn to stand for ourselves and face our own problems, then we might be no better than the monsters and criminals we are training to fight. But because he has such a low view of the Faunus people, because of the actions of the White Fang I'd wager, he would've allowed hatred like that to spread and that would end up creating the very people he hates," he said as Blake took a moment before she looked at him

"And what about you, what's your opinion?" Blake asked as the boy looked at her. Memories flashing in his mind of the harsh road Blake took to stop the White Fang and the prices she had to pay to do so.

Something that he respected greatly.

"Personally, I don't really care if anyone is a human, a Faunus or some three-eyed purple man from the moon. If you can fight by my side against Grimm and stay alive, then you're fine by me," he said as he took a swig of his drink.

"Because I can tell you one thing. The Grimm don't fight amongst themselves"

Blake seemed to ponder his reason and then nodded and went back to her lunch. All the while thinking of the boy in front of her that probably made more sense than any angry speech the White Fang could ever produce.

Maybe she could find an ally with him.

"You can't be serious?" Jaune inwardly cursed as he should have expected this as he turned to Weiss. "You're seriously defending them? The Faunus are a degenerate and conniving race that seeks to destroy mankind. Most of them end up joining with the White Fang, that is nothing but a group of murderers and criminals! You can't be seriously defending them!" Jaune turned to her, but before he could clarify Blake spoke up.

"How dare you! The Faunus are nothing like that, and they only join the White Fang when people like you judge them otherwise! They are not criminals! They're just misguided!" she said as Jaune and Pyrrha looked to each other, this was not meant to happen, not yet anyway.

"Misguided? They murder and steal from hard working people and make everyone's life worse!" she said as Blake could only feel disgusted at her.

"Y-you, ignorant little _brat_!"

"How dare you talk to me like that! _I_ am your teammate!" she said as Blake shook her head.

"No! You are a judgmental little girl, who has a very limited view of the world!" She countered as both girls stood up from the table and glared at each other.

"What in the world makes you say that?" Ruby felt small at this moment, while her sister Yang was hiding her face behind her palm.

"The mere fact that you would sort all Faunus with a terrorist group solely based on their species, makes you just as much of a dangerous as you believe them to be!"

"So, you admit it! The White Fang _is_ just a radical group of terrorists!"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Blake said as everyone in the cafeteria could only stare in uncomfortable silence as the two continued to argue. Ruby and Yang looking between their two teammates, as Ren and Nora tried their best not to look like they would be dragged into this argument.

"I don't understand _why_ this is causing such a problem!"

"That _is_ the problem!"

"You realise you are defending an organisation that hates Humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"

"There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate Humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like _**you**_ , that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

"People like _me_?"

"You're discriminatory!"

"I'm a victim!" she screamed as her voice began to reach new heights.

"Enough!" Jaune slammed his hand on the table, causing both girls and everyone in the cafeteria to flinch.

"Now let me make one thing perfectly clear! I am _**not** **defending**_ the White Fang and I am _**not**_ _**discriminating**_ someone for what they are! But if you two don't cut it out right now, I don't care what your species is, you'll get a fair kick in the ass! Am I clear!" he ordered as both girls flinched at his voice.

"But," they both said.

"But nothing!" they flinched again at the tone of his voice.

"I don't care what sad backstory or dark secret you two have that triggered this fight, and I'm sorry I brought it up. But we are here to be Huntsman! You want bicker like kids on the playground, then get the hell out of here and stop wasting everyone's time! We're here to protect the world, not tear it apart!" he said as he glared at the two.

"Besides, you two are making a scene and I thought a _Schnee_ would've _known better_ than to make a scene and I thought you were the quiet one? Clearly, I was wrong." Jaune said as the girls were stunned.

Weiss stared in silence then glared and stomped her way out of the cafeteria, while Blake marched off in the opposite direction, leaving Jaune standing in the middle of a room full of students staring at him.

"And what the hell are you all looking at!?" They flinched and snapped back to their meals.

He sat back in his seat as he rubbed a hand over his face, before turning over to Ruby and Yang. "Sorry Ruby, but I think I just caused you a big problem?" he said as Ruby looked in the directions of her teammates and shook her head.

"It's alright Jaune, I'm sure they just need some time to cool off, it's not your fault Jaune. Weiss did kind of start it?" she said as Yang nodded.

"Don't worry about it hot stuff, things will work out." She said as Jaune and Pyrrha shared a glance.

"I hope so," Jaune said as he cursed to himself, another event changed in the time stream altered because of his actions.

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

Deep with a forest of red, a large Ursa rested beneath the tree as it carelessly laid out in the open of the large forest. Its mood one of calm and serenity as it rested in the massive forest. Suddenly it's sense perked up as a shadow began to rise from the ground. It's sense instantly flared as the shadow began to take shape, the shadow's then forming a cloak of darkness as two eyes glared out from a dark hood.

The Ursa was about to roar at the figure before the shadow's eyes glared at the beast and it instantly recoiled in fear. The shadow slithered across the grass as it stood before the Grimm, the Ursa lowering its head even closer to the ground as it sensed who this shadow truly was.

It's one and true master. The Grimm King.

It raised its hand as the symbol of the tri-horned dragon appeared on the back of its shadowy hand and placed it on the beast skull. Instantly the symbol spread across its body as the Ursa started to convulse and twitch as its body began to change. Bones broke and smoke spewed all over the beast as it transformed into a creature, like the one seen nine years ago.

The shadow grinned as it raised its hand and the symbol of the Grimm King glowed brightly in the darkness.

* * *

One Week Later – Forever Falls Forest

* * *

The red leaves of the Forever Falls Forest shimmered with the wind as Jaune stood before the tall oaks. His eyes staring off at the individual leaves that gently swayed and billowed on the branches. His mind instantly taking him back to the last hours of his life as he remembered fighting the Grimm King in this very forest and then ending both their lives in the battle to end all battles.

Jaune could still remember feeling nothing but happiness in his final hours when he knew that he was going to die in this forest and be reunited with the ones he lost so long ago.

Only it seemed that his battle was not over, not yet anyway.

"Yes, students, the Forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, Professor Port, Professor Oob-"

" **Doctor**! Oobleck!" Glynda glared at him

"... _ **Doctor**_ Oobleck and I here to make sure none of you dies while doing so," Glynda's voice continues interrupts as everyone looks around the forest.

"Yes, valiant students! Take heed! For the forest has many dangers and many beasts that will not hesitate to take advantage of such a gathering! So, stay sharp and be cautious!" Port said with so much bravado that Glynda slapped a hand over her face just to drown him out.

"Why me?" she asked as she walked away from the two men.

The reason Port and Oobleck was with them this time, was because of the Chimaera that appeared a month ago, which the teachers spent a whole week in the Emerald Forest in search of more of the destructive beasts. But since they could find no more of the beast or what caused it, they were cautious about sending students to Forever Falls Forest.

So, the teachers felt it would be safer if there were three experienced hunters watching over the students. It made sense, after being caught with their trousers down the first time, they did not want to be caught off guard again.

"It's odd being here, isn't it?" Pyrrha asked as Jaune turned to her.

"Tell me about it, last time I was here, I died. That way over there," he pointed to the west of the forest, as he flashed back to the forest in ruins as his blood trailed across the red floor. "But honestly, I'm not really concerned about my 'death' so to speak," he said as Pyrrha looked concerned.

"You're worried about Weiss and Blake?" she asked as Jaune nodded as he turned to the pair as they stood far apart from each other. Ruby and Yang in the middle as they both looked at their partners and sharing a concerned glance.

"Yeah, I'm starting to wonder why I bother to try and keep the timeline intact? Everything I've done so far has created alteration ripple after the other. Blake and Weiss aren't supposed to have their little spat for another week, right when Sun is supposed to arrive in Vale and Roman steal that dust from the docks. Not to mention now there's this tension surrounding team RWBY that I swear you could cut it with a knife. I know it's not my fault, but I feel like I triggered it..." he sighed as he looked at Pyrrha.

"So, I'm just wondering, should I even bother trying to keep everything the way it was? Or should I just break loose and do whatever the heck I want? But if I do, what would that make me?" he asked as Pyrrha couldn't find an answer for him. "In any case, I have something I need to do here. Keep an eye out for anything strange, round this time Cardin should be planning his little revenge plan on you with the Rapier Wasps, only I'm not his slave," he said as he looked at her.

"Be careful, okay?" he said as she nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine, do what you have to do," she said as she walked over to her team as they began to gather the sap. Jaune then turned in the direction he pointed to before as he walked deeper into the woods. Behind him, four figures glared at him as they silently followed him.

* * *

After a few minutes of walking, Jaune stopped as he stood before a lone tree in a large clearing in the middle of the forest. His eyes gazing at the ground as a trail of blood appeared in his mind, followed by the tracks of dirt and remains of what was once armour.

He followed the trail until it led to a man, sitting beneath the tree. The man was heavily beaten with his head hung low, as his right arm and left leg torn from his body. Blood pooled around him with what remained of a photograph clutched to his chest.

The man then looked up as tired and lifeless eyes stared back at him as he stared back at the man as well.

Jaune and the man just stared at each other as their eyes glared into each other's soul, no words needed to be said about what the other thought. The man then smirked as he raised his hand and pointed at the boy before he disappeared into thin air. Jaune sighed as he knelt and placed his hand on the bark.

"Don't worry...I won't fail them..."

He drew one of his throwing daggers from his chest and removed one of the gloves. He then ran the blade over his palm as blood began to seep out of the wound. He held his hand over the ground as the blood seeped into the earth. The blood shimmered as it contained tiny little fragments of light before it swarmed and formed a blood red crystal that sunk into the earth. He then focused his aura on his hand as the wound instantly closed.

"One down, seven more to go," he placed his glove back on and stood up off the ground.

The sound of twig snapping caused Jaune raised his head to the noise and heard four sets of feet walking towards him. He instantly knew who they belonged to as he sighed.

"Seriously? You're going to do this now?" he asked as he turned to face the members of team CRDL.

"You've had this coming for a while now, Arc! Don't think you're going to walk away from this without a good beating! It's time you learnt who the true huntsman is at Beacon Academy!" he said as Jaune looked unamused.

"So, what? You and your posse are going to teach me a lesson? oh boy, I'm terrified," Jaune said in a mocking tone as they growled.

"You should be, Arc! It's four of us against one of you!"

"No, it's really one of me, against four idiots that can't learn some fucking humility and know when they can't win. So, how about you just turn around and collect your samples before Goodwitch decides to punish you with her crop...thought I suppose one of you would find that a turn on?" he said as Russell suddenly blushed.

"Enough! You think you're so clever? That you're much better than us? Well, you're not! You just got lucky in all our matches! Now draw your sword!" he ordered as Jaune didn't respond as he crossed his arms.

"No, I'm not going to fight you, Cardin, because this is ridiculous," he said as the teen growled.

"Look, I don't hate you, Cardin. I think you're a jerk, but I don't hate you. I believe you have the capacity to be a great huntsman, and when you pull your head out of your ass, a great leader if you wanted to..." he said as he briefly flashed forward to the man Cardin would be, the man he would gladly call a friend.

"But if you keep acting like a spoiled brat and keep pushing everyone around like you own the place, sooner or later you are going to find yourself alone when you need people the most. And then you'll have no one to blame but yourself," he said as the rest of CRDL looked at each other as his words seemed to resonate with them.

But Cardin, on the other hand, grew angrier as he felt humiliated at being lectured by this boy in front of him. Without thinking and without hesitation he charged at the boy as he was hell-bent on killing him.

"Cardin! Wait!" Russell tried to yell out as he charged at the boy.

Only for a second later did he find himself on the ground, his weapon far away from him and a dagger pointed straight at his eye. He looked up in horror as he flinched in fear at the cold look in Jaune's eyes as he held the blade over his eye.

No one moved as they tried to register what had just happened. One minute Cardin was charging at him, the next he was on the ground, disarmed and held at the razor's edge. Jaune only stared back with a cold look in his eyes as Cardin felt true fear resonate throughout his body.

Jaune then looked to the rest of CRDL as they backed off in fear of the boy, the small gestures indicating they were ready to flee at a moment's notice.

"I'm tired of playing this little game Cardin, I'm tired of you acting like a pompous jerk when I **_know_** you can be _**better**_ than this," he said as he let go of Cardin and allowed the boy to stand up.

"Let me make one thing clear, I don't care about who's the coolest or who's the best huntsman at Beacon Academy. Because when it's all said and done, none of it matters. I just only care about one thing, keeping my friends safe. That's all that matters to me and if you can't realise this, then get the hell out of my way... it's time you grow the hell up," he said as Cardin looked at the boy and then hung his head.

"What in the hell is going on here!?" a voice called out as Jaune turned to see the teachers and the rest of the students coming towards them. Glynda at the forefront of the group as she glared at the five boys before her. "There had better be a good explanation for what's going on here?" she demanded as Jaune sighed, knowing Cardin and his team would no doubt try to blame him.

 **"...Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..."**

However, before he could explain himself he heard a growl behind him as he spun and saw an Ursa Major lumbering before them. The Beast looked towards the assembled students and teachers as it growled loudly. Jaune instantly cursed as the teachers quickly stood before the other students.

"Stand back children!" Port exclaimed as he stood before the masses. "Leave this beast to us!" he said as he prepared to attack. However, Jaune then noticed as its eyes grew red and a red symbol glowed deeply on its chest.

"No! Get away from it!" Jaune yelled as the beast roared into the air.

Black smoke began to circle around the beast as the sounds of bones snapping and breaking echoed in the forest. Its forms growing massive in size as it now towered over the entire class. The Beast was one Jaune had seen long ago when he was eight years old.

The Ursa Grander as he called them.

A cold sweat built on Jaune's brow as the familiar beast stood before them. But then, several more eyes glowed in the forest as more of the beast emerged from the shadows.

All of them changed and all of them just as threatening as the last. Alongside them stood Beowolves that had also changed as they now sported red veins across their bodies and glowing red eyes as drool leaked down their jaws.

No one could speak, no one could make a sound as they all stared at the numerous hoard that stood before them. Teams RWBY and JNPR could only stare in absolute horror, while CRDL looked like they were about to crap themselves. The teachers too had looks of fear as they had never seen such creatures before. But Jaune and Pyrrha knew there was only one way these creatures could be here...

"He's gotten stronger..." Jaune said as a shadow far away raised its hand and signalled the Grimm as the monsters roared into the forest and chaos descended upon the class.

To Be Continued -

* * *

Omake: The Sound of Your Voice

* * *

Jaune was absently swinging his sword as he and team RNJR had decided to take a break from their travels and rest near a river in Anima. But while the others rested, Jaune was busy training as he continued to bury himself within the only thing that he felt he had a connection to Pyrrha as he swung his sword to the sounds of her instructions.

Pyrrha herself watching from the astral plane as she could only watch in sadness as the boy continued to train and push himself to the limit.

She found it hard to watch as the boy continued to push himself beyond his limits. Still feeling the guilt that her death was the cause for his reckless training regimen. The only comfort she found was that she could influence his dreams from the nightmare induced dreams to ones that allowed him to rest peacefully in his sleep.

But no matter what she tried, she still could not tell him she was with him, even in his dreams.

Suddenly Jaune gasped in pain as he dropped his sword and clutched his leg, pulling a muscle in his leg as he fell to his knees. He clutched his leg as the pain shot through his leg, Pyrrha tried to comfort him, but only preceded to pass right through him. She hung her head as she could only stand by and watch the boy work through the pain.

"I think that's enough for now," Jaune said as he finally managed to stop the pain and lay down on the grass. The soft breeze flowing through the air as Jaune stared up at the clouds that drifted by. Pyrrha sitting beside him as he stared up at the clouds.

"I wonder though, are you proud of me?" Jaune suddenly said as Pyrrha spun to him as he looked up to the sky.

"I mean, I know you probably are, but...it's still hard to believe you're not here with me...I'm following all your instructions, those videos you left have really helped. But it's sad hearing your voice..." he said as he chuckled.

"But it's the only way I can hear your voice, the only way I can remember how kind and caring you were...because I'm afraid that I'll forget it, and then you'll fade away...I don't want that. I want to remember you, even if you're no longer here," Jaune said as he had no idea that she was right beside him.

"I wish I could really hear you again, one last time, even if it's only for a little bit..." Jaune said as he closed his eyes. "I miss you Pyrrha...and I'm sorry I never gave you the chance," he said as tears slowly dissipated from her eyes as she softly smiled at the boy.

"I wish you could too Jaune...if only so you could forget me..."

"Jaune! Jaune!" a voice called out as they turned to see Ruby and the other calling over to him. "Come on! We have to get going!" Ruby called out as Jaune wave back.

"Okay, I'll be right there!" he called back as he stood back up and began to leave the forest, but not before looking back to the clouds as he thought for a moment, they took her shape.

"We're going to stop her Pyrrha, count on it," he promised, never knowing that Pyrrha was right beside him as they both ventured on through their silent pain and suffering.

* * *

 **And Scene, well here is Chapter IX of Restart, with this time off I have I've been writing more and more of these stories at a much faster rate. It might slow down after I move and get a job, but I will endeavour to continue and hopefully continue. And sorry for the cliffhanger, but I had to split this chapter into two parts, part two should be out soon. Though it is hard writing more Omake's and I may start going into Jaune and Pyrrha's new childhoods sooner than expected, hopefully, more comedy in there.**

 **Also with the cafeteria scene, I felt I wanted to do something different with Velvet because I think the whole Jaune beating them up thing has grown tiresome and predictable. So, I thought, why not make it look like an accident? Change it up a little, hopefully, it worked out and I would like to thank Kratos1989 for looking it over. Hope you all enjoyed it.**

 **So yeah, The Grimm King is getting stronger sending not one but a whole hoard to attack Jaune and his classmates. But what was Jaune doing with his blood? And can Jaune and the others hold out against the hoard?**

 **Find out in Restart Chapter X: The Forever Forest Part II**


	10. Chapter X: The Forever Forest Part II

RWBY: Restart

When the world was destroyed and all that he had ever known was taken from him. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future...just not the way he expected.

* * *

Chapter X: The Forever Forest Part II

* * *

A large hoard of Ursa Grandeur's and Mutated Beowolves roared as chaos echoed throughout the forest. The students had looks of fear plastered all over their faces as the beasts mutated forms sent horror down their spines.

The Teachers were faring better, but they too could not help but feel afraid of the many beasts that now surrounded them. One student screamed in fright as the beasts roared and charged at the students.

Students quickly beginning to panic as they tried to escape, but found it impossible with more of them quickly cutting off their escape. They batted a few away as if they were nothing but sacks full of feathers. Their aura protected them, but the force rendered them unable to fight back.

Just as one was about to claim its first kill, it was shot back by a powerful force as Glynda used her semblance to shoot the creature away. But the creature merely shook off its stupor as it roared and charged at the headmistress.

Port got in front of the teacher as he fired a shot from his weapon, blasting a chunk from the bests armour, but did little to stop it.

"Move!" he ordered, as he and Glynda rolled out of the way just as the beast struck the ground before them.

"These are no ordinary Grimm! It is as if they have been enhanced!" the beast turned its gaze to the portly man. Who gripped his axe and charged at the beast and clashed against its bony armour.

"We have to get the students out of here! I've contacted the Shuttle! They should be at the landing zone in five minutes! We just need to hold them off until it gets here!" Glynda said as she did her best to keep the monsters away.

"That is easier said than done!" Doctor Oobleck said as he used his speed to dash around the many Ursa Grander that now appeared throughout the forest. "But where did these creatures come from!?" he asked as used his thermos bat to blast another away, only for another to charge at the man.

"I don't know!? But all that matters now is getting the students out of here!" she ordered as she used her semblance to push them back if only to struggle as they pushed back against her power.

"But still, what are these Creatures? And why are they attacking us now?"

* * *

Meanwhile, more of the students began to panic as one lumbered towards them, Cardin tried to fight back but was too scared as an Ursa Grandeur stood over him, ready to plunge his claws into his chest.

Jaune quickly sprung into action and sliced the beast's arm off, before the second swing decapitated its head clean off. It's roar echoed through the forest as Jaune stood before the beasts.

"Everyone get to the ship! Those who can fight help the others! Get everyone else to the shuttle!" he ordered, "We have to get out of here!" he yelled as they nodded and made a run for the shuttle.

Jaune meanwhile mentally cursed as he stood before the large beasts.

 _'Shit! There's too many of them! I should have known the Grimm King would do this! I was stupid not to prepare for this!'_ he didn't notice one charging up behind him before a blond-haired girl socked it in the face and sent it flying into the others.

"Hey! Keep your head in the game hot stuff! These things are tough!" she said as she reloaded her weapons. "My attacks are barely putting a scratch on them!" She said as stood in front of more of them. A metal discus shot past her and slammed into another Grimm as it ricocheted off a tree and returned to Pyrrha's hand.

"This is a battle we cannot win, we must evacuate the forest immediately. Where are the others?" she asked when suddenly a wall of ice appeared before her.

The Grimm momentarily stunned as they turned to see Weiss with her sword impaled on the ground. Ren and Nora standing by her side as Ren shot at the Beowolves while Nora fired grenade after grenade at the hoard.

"We are fine, we were just helping some of the injured back to the shuttle, but where are Ruby and Blake?" she asked as the loud crack of a sniper shot past her head and hit one in the eye. She turned up as she saw Ruby in a tree branch as she reloaded her weapon.

"I'm right here! But I lost track of Blake amidst the chaos!" she said as Yang turned to her sister.

"What!" she yelled as she felt fear in her chest, "Where is she!?" she asked as she never noticed the Beowulf that snuck up behind her, only for it to scream in pain and then fall to the forest floor dead with a Katana blade in its back and the ninja-like girl on its back.

"I'm fine, but there are still injured that need to be carried out of here!" Blake said as Jaune nodded and blocked another attack from a 'Rampant Beowulf' before slicing it in half.

"We have no choice, everyone! Hold the line here! We must make sure that everyone gets out of here alive! None of them make it throough, Understood!" he ordered as his commander's voice resonated with teams RWBY and JNPR.

They all nodded as they reloaded and stood before the hoard, as Jaune pointed his sword at the large amount of Grimm and gripped the handle tight. He roared as he charged at the beast with Yang, Pyrrha and Nora by his side as all four of them blasted at the many Grimm with their weapons. Body parts and black smoke littered the air as bone claws clashed against metal.

Blake darted through the Beowolves as she slashed and sliced at their legs with Ren following beside her, as he fired rapid amounts of bullets from his guns while using his semblance to avoid their attention then striking them in the back.

Ruby pegged them in the head with each shot from her rifle, while Weiss launched sharp icicles at the packs.

Yang and Nora combining their attacks as Nora's grenades and Yang's shotgun rockets blasted against the Ursa Grandeur's thick hides.

Pyrrha floated her shield by her side in its buzz-saw mode, as the discus slashed at their throats while she thrust her spear through their hearts. Jaune then following up as the massive blade decapitated their heads from their bodies as his eyes held pure focus and anger.

* * *

The hoards roar echoing throughout the forest as the shadow of the Grimm King watched from the distance, as the symbol on its hand continued to glow brighter. Its eyes focused on Jaune as he watched the boy continue to fight his creatures, but found confusion in the way the boy fought.

It could instantly tell that the boy was holding back, not going to his full potential and just annihilating the army before him.

He had not given the hoard enough power to destroy the boy, merely enough that the large number would provide a mere challenge for the boy. But it seemed that he was far more focused on keeping the other humans safe, his 'friends' from what the Grimm King understood, and he found it to be boring.

This was not what he wanted to see. He wanted to see the one who killed him in the future fight to his true potential and break free the shackles of this world's morality and embrace the thirst for combat that he knew existed inside him.

He focused his attention on the assembled students as the symbol glowed on his shadowy hand brighter.

* * *

The Grimm suddenly glowed as they felt an increase in power. Their master was bestowing upon them a great strength as they felt the sudden rush of energy overwhelm them. They turned this energy towards the students as they easily swatted back another group of students whose aura instantly broke while they slammed into a tree.

Port spun around in time to block the next blow that would have surely killed the boy and then tried to kill the beast. But the blade barely made a dent as the Grimm merely grinned at the man.

"Shit! They just got stronger!" Port called out as the teachers were now struggling to hold back the beasts. Glynda was struggling to hold back the telekinetic barrier that she erected to protect the students.

"We can't hold out much longer!" Oobleck called out as dashed his way through the hoard, only for a Beowulf to pounce on him and raised its jaws to devour the man had a shot from his thermos not blasted its head to smithereens. But he was wounded as he looked down at his leg that had a large gash through his calf muscle.

Jaune looked around as the world seemed to slow down, every detail and every moment seemed to be slowed to a crawl as he watched the world around him.

The hoard was becoming too much for his friend's and their auras were beginning to shatter, as they were low on ammunition.

Ren was helping a student up as he did his best to drag them back to safety, while Nora fired at another Ursa.

Weiss and Ruby were surrounded by Grimm as Weiss made spikes of ice that did little to stop the Ursa Grander as they merely brushed away the shards of ice.

Blake and Yang were back to back as blood leaked from the top of Yang's eye while Blake protected her partner to the best of her abilities.

* * *

 _A brief flash to the future as he watched the friends that he fought beside die before him one by one as a smiling Ruby was held in his arms before she closed her eyes and he was all alone..._

* * *

"NO!" he yelled as his hand shimmered with powerful light as condensed around his fist and he slammed it into the ground. A large dome began to surge out from his hand as the large dome pushed the Grimm away from the students. The Beasts roared in anger as a massive dome sheltered the students and separated them from the Grimm.

The students and teachers could only stare in awe as the Grimm continued to bat against the dome in a vain attempt to break the barrier. Jaune looked up as he held his blade in his hand and glared at the Grimm, growling and snarling as they slammed against the dome. But Jaune merely glared back as he then turned his head to the others.

"Miss Goodwitch, Professor Port, Doctor Oobleck?" he said as they turned to the boy.

"Grab everyone else and get them to the shuttle and get back to Beacon, I can hold them off as long as I can so that you can get the others to safety. Don't worry they can't get through the barrier, it doesn't allow anyone without a soul to enter. Get out from the back while I draw them away," he said as he hefted the massive blade to his shoulder.

Instantly the teachers flinched in shock as they stared at the boy.

"What!? Mister Arc that is absurd! You can't fight this many Grimm by yourself! You're going to get yourself killed!" Glynda said before she flinched at the stone like gaze from the boy.

"Don't argue with me! You're down to your last legs and this barrier is not going to hold much longer. You have too many injuries to continue fighting and your priority is to get the others to safety! I can draw them away from you while you get everyone out of here! Don't fail in your duty!" he ordered as she was about to argue when Port grabbed her shoulder.

"Unfortunately, he is right. We are too weak right now to continue fighting and we need as much time as we can get to get the injured to the shuttle. We can pick him up from the air once everyone is safe," he said as the woman looked over to the many injured children as she cursed.

"Fine, but do not do anything reckless! Keep yourself alive as long as you can so we can pick you up!" she ordered as the boy nodded and began to walk to the edge of the barrier. But a hand grabbed his as he turned and saw Ruby staring at him in worry and shock.

"Jaune, don't go! There are too many of them! There has to be another way!" she begged as he sadly shook his head, removed her hand and patted the top of her head.

"Relax Crater Face, this won't kill me, I promise." He said as she hung her head while Yang was helped up by Blake.

"Hey Hot stuff!" she called out as the boy turned back to her. "Don't you go getting yourself killed! I'm done with you yet!" she said as the boy smirked at this.

"I have no doubt about that," he said as he then turned to Ren and Nora. "Ren, I expect you to look after them," he said as the boy nodded in respect. "And Nora..." he said as she looked at the boy.

"Break their legs" the girl nodded and held her hammer to her shoulder.

"Can do, Fearless Leader!" she said as the boy turned to see Pyrrha standing in front of him, her arms folded over her chest as she glared at the boy. He sighed as he looked at her.

"Pyrrha," he said as she instantly held up her hand to him.

"Save it Jaune, I know what you're going to say and I don't care. I am staying by your side this time and I am helping you hold off the Grimm. There are too many even for you to handle and I can at least help you hold them back," she said as she held her shield up.

"You made me leave last time, but not this time. This time I'm fighting by your side, whether you like it or not," she said as the boy stared at her.

"Actually, I was going to ask for your help. There are too many Grimm for the teachers to get the students to safety, so I need your help to draw them off until everyone is away safe. I can't do that by myself," he said as she blinked at this.

"Oh...All right then," she said as the boy turned back the hoard and then turned his head to the others.

"As soon as they attack us, make your way to the back of the barrier, it should allow you to pass through! We'll hold them off!" he said as they nodded and the pair prepared their weapons.

"Ready partner?" he asked as she nodded.

"Always," she said as they then ran out of the barrier and into the hoard of Grimm.

Jaune instantly carving his way through the Beowolves as body parts flew in the air as he made his way through the hoard. Another group tried to avenge them, only for them to be shot in the head as Pyrrha charged at them as she covered the boy.

Jaune swung his blade as the large metal reverberated with each strike, crushing and hacking any Grimm to pieces.

Pyrrha following up as she threw her shield, blades fully deployed and sliced the Grimm to pieces. The shield bouncing off a tree and back into hands as she sliced a Grimm in half.

Jaune blasted his way with his shotgun as a Beowulf was decimated from the waist up, as he spun around and used his sword as a shield to block an Ursa that slammed its claws into the metal. Only for a javelin to pieces its eye and then sliced in half by a large blade.

Jaune and Pyrrha stood back to back as they met with the enraged hoard, all while the Grimm King could watch from a distance as what could only be described as a sickening smile grew on its face.

"This is our chance!" Glynda said as she and the other students helped them to the back of the barrier.

They instantly passed through the barrier as all the Grimm were now focused on the pair out front. Port helping Oobleck as he carried the thin man, while others helped carry their classmates. Teams RWBY and JNPR hanging back as they made sure that everyone was out safely.

"Okay, let's go!" Glynda said as the last of the students were out of the barrier and they ran to the landing zone. She looked back at the pair as the Grimm surrounded them, but held no fear as she glared at the large hoard.

"Don't die you two," she muttered as she then helped the others to safety.

* * *

Jaune mindlessly swung his blade as he crushed the head of an Ursa with pure strength. Its head exploding into smoke as he stood in the middle of the hoard.

 _'...This feeling...'_

The beast charged and he swung his blade, bisecting a full-grown Beowulf Rampant in half. He spun around and slammed his blade into the shoulder of an Ursa Grander and injecting a vast amount of fire into its being _._

' _The rush of battle...the stench of death...and the unbearing sensation of being overwhelmed...It's just like before...back in the old timeline...'_

He spun around as sliced two more Beowolves in half _,_ its body falling in two as thick black smoke poured out of its wounds. He spun and blocked another attack, while shooting it in the head with his shotgun.

 _'I should be hating this, I should be disgusted and afraid for everyone's safety...but..._ '

He aimed his shotgun and blasted the head off a Beowulf as bits and pieces of the Beowulf were scattered to the wind.

' _Why do I...'_

He raised the blade as he smashed it down on the head of an Ursa Grander as it exploded in a show of dust.

 _'Why do I feel so alive!'_

A dark grin grew on his face as he pointed his blade at the remaining hoard. He felt his heart quicken and his blood pulsing with excitement as he felt the adrenaline rushing throughout his body. He sprung towards the hoard as his blade cut more of the Grimm to pieces.

Body parts flying in the as fire from previous attacks illuminated the battlefield in an orange glow and cast him in a terrifying glow, that reflected off his blade.

* * *

The Grimm King grinned as he watched the carnage and devastation the young man was unleashing on his creations.

His eyes and the symbol on his hand glowed brighter as he felt all the rage and anger that resonated from within the boy.

* * *

Pyrrha turned to Jaune as she noticed the dark grin that was on his face and instantly felt afraid. She had seen that look on his face, one that she had never wished to see again.

He was becoming absorbed in the battle and was starting to lose his surrounding as he mindlessly fought the Grimm. It was something he had often done in the future to block out all outside noises and focus purely on the battle.

It was the only way for him to survive in a world overrun by Grimm as she called it his 'Berserker Rage' as he was using it to mindlessly destroy the Grimm. And while it did seem to make him stronger, it also made him more reckless and unaware of any injury that he would receive and that would often cost him later.

She needed to get him focused again.

"Jaune!" she called out as the boy suddenly snapped out of his haze and turned to the girl who blocked another attack and slashed its throat. "Don't lose yourself! Stay focused! We need to make sure the others get to the Shuttle safely!" Jaune blinked and nodded as he continued to fight.

"Right! Thanks, Pyrrha!" he said as he blocked a strike and carved another in half.

The Grimm King scoffed at this as he watched the boy no longer mindlessly attacking his creature. But still, he took joy in the sight of his enemy fighting the hoard and easily decimate them. He then raised his hand again as he sent one last power up before he sunk back into the ground.

* * *

Meanwhile, with the rest of the Class

* * *

The others were limping and moving as fast as they could to the landing zone as multiple students and even a teacher hobbled towards the landing zone. Glynda looked over at the many injured students as she cursed at her inability to keep them safe.

She still couldn't figure out where all this Grimm had come from?

One moment it was just one Ursa, something someone of her calibre should have been able to handle easily. But then it suddenly changed, transforming into something she had never seen before.

None of their attacks seemed to even phase them, despite how much she used her semblance.

Yet they just kept coming and coming that she for a moment thought that they would not make it out alive. But then that boy Jaune Arc summoned a powerful barrier she had never seen before and protected them, then offered himself to hold the large hoard back while she and the others got to safety.

Even his partner, Pyrrha Nikos, volunteered to stay with him and hold back the hoard.

She knew that it was the only option they had left, and she had seen the boy fight that mysterious creature before with frightening prowess. But still, to be saved by a student far younger than herself was a blow to her pride. But he was right, her duty was to the students she could save.

She looked out as Teams RWBY and JNPR, those that remained, as they helped those that could not back to the shuttle.

"There it is! Everyone onto the shuttle, now!" she commanded as they all began to pile onto the ship.

But on the way one of the students fell to his knees as he had no more strength to move. Weiss went over to help him when suddenly a stray Beowulf emerged from the shadows and pounced at the pair.

Weiss immediately pushed the teen out of the way as it landed on her and went for her head. She managed to place her blade in its jaws, but did little to stop the beast from attacking her.

"Weiss!" Ruby yelled as she tried to shoot the beast off, but had run out of ammo and was too far away to help her.

Weiss could only look up in fear as the beast continued to gnaw and bite on her blade trying to get to her, drool rolling off its jaws as some landed on her face. Suddenly a black blur kicked the best back as the best shock off the stupor and face a girl with black hair and wearing a black bow.

Blake held her blade in front of her as she stood in front of Weiss, the girl determined to protect the other as Weiss could only look up at the girl in shock.

Blake then charged as the beast swiped at the girl, who for a moment appeared to be bisected before she faded into shadows, she then reappeared behind the beast and slashed at its back.

It roared in pain and quickly swiped at the girl, who was shocked that her attack didn't instantly kill the beast, striking her across the face as she tumbled across the ground.

The Beowulf roared as it ran towards the girl as it prepared to devour the girl, only to meet with a hammer in the face as Nora slammed Magnhild into the creature and blasted it off into the distance.

"And Don't come back!" she yelled as she grinned while Ren kneeled to her.

"You okay, Blake?" he asked as the girl had her head hung but still nodded.

"I'm fine, thanks to you, Nora," she said but then noticed that she and the others were staring at her, Weiss especially staring in shock as she found it even more confusing.

"What?" she asked as Ruby pointed at her head.

"Blake?" she said as fear suddenly surged through her chest as she immediately shot up to her head and felt the lack of cloth and the familiar feeling of fur on the top of her head.

"You're a Faunus?" she said as Blake could only stare back in horror.

* * *

The Pilot in the cockpit was checking over the flight controls before she noticed some of her equipment started to act up. "What in the?" she said as her co-pilot turned to her.

"What is it?" he asked as she tapped the screen.

"I don't know, but I'm getting some serious electrical interference on the controls? What the heck is going here?" she asked as looked at the controls.

* * *

Earlier – Jaune and Pyrrha

* * *

Jaune struggled to hold back an Ursa as its large paws pushed against Retribution's Shield Mode.

"They got stronger!" Jaune said as his attacks weren't having as much effect, he noticed the brands on their chests started glowing brighter and their forms becoming more bulged. He held back another Ursa before sent a pulse through Retribution and then sliced off its arm as it screamed in pain.

"We need to step it up. So, if you've got any other hidden abilities! Now's the time to use them!" he said as Pyrrha looked to all the Grimm and then to the ground as she smirked.

"As a matter of fact, I do," she said as she sheathed her weapon and placed her hands on the ground. "I need you to hold them off for a little while longer," she said as Jaune nodded.

"Okay, I'll use a bit more of my aura...whatever you have, better be good?" he said as she smirked.

"You're not the only one with new skills Jaune," she said as she focused her semblance into the ground beneath her feet.

He nodded and stood in front of his opponents and twisted the handle of Retribution.

Gears began to shift and turn in the blade as the whole blade shifted down to the handle while poking out the long rectangular blade of Crocea Revival. The Edges of Crocea Revival then retracted as the blade moved to the side turning into a handle of a War Hammer.

Retribution Mode IV – Valkyrie's Hammer

Jaune heft the hammer up as lighting surged from the dust chamber and coated the head of the hammer in lighting dust. An Ursa Grander roared as it charged at the boy, while Jaune only smirked as the beast ran towards him and he swung the hammer straight into its face.

The sound of bones breaking and teeth flying out of its mouth resonated on the battlefield before it was blasted away and slammed into several over Ursa's. He then swung the hammer left and right as several Beowolves were sent flying back, while Jaune raised his hammer and smashed it into the head of an Ursa Grander, reducing it into a pulpy mess.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was focusing on her semblance, as she focused on the ground as she searched for what she needed.

Ever since she came back, Pyrrha had been constantly wondering what she could do to change her fate when she would eventually face Cinder again. The last time she fought her, she was defeated and lost her life to her without the woman breaking so much as a sweat.

She realised that she had relied too much on her semblance's abilities to manipulate her opponent's weapons, and proved to be useless against a person who didn't use conventional weapons, mostly due to her life as a duellist in tournaments. Not to mention she was completely defenceless when Cinder destroyed her weapons and shot her right in the chest.

So, this time around she decided to explore and experiment with her semblances true potential. She wanted to create a method of fighting her opponents where she would never be unarmed again.

She experimented, pushed the limits of her semblance and discovered a new way to use her polarity.

She smirked as she found what she was looking for and slowly brought her arms up as electricity surged from her arms and into the ground. Tiny black particles began to rise from the earth as the black dust swarmed around the Grimm, while Jaune only looked up in awe at the dust that swarmed around them.

He managed to grab hold of some of the dust as he noticed tiny fragments of metal and iron in the black sand.

"Metal? ...Oh, that is clever" Jaune said as the dust then swarmed towards Pyrrha as she held out her arms and it swarmed around her palms forming large circles of iron sand.

She smirked as she thrust her hand forward and controlled the iron dust to surge towards the Grimm.

Instantly the Grimm were hacked to pieces as the dust formed circular blades that vibrated with the same cutting power as a chainsaw and decapitated the Grimm into chunks.

Pyrrha manipulated the dust as they formed large sword like shapes and speared several Ursa she forced them to spike, creating a tree of iron sand in their corpses.

Several Beowolves charged up behind as she willed the sand behind her, creating a wall of dense sand that easily blocked the attack, then surged as several spikes pierced the Grimm.

She willed the sand in her hands as they formed a blade and shield out of the Duat as they both vibrated like all her other constructs. A stray leaf fell on the blade as it was easily split in two. She charged as she sliced and diced any Grimm that stood in her way, as her chainsaw-like blade sliced and diced any that stood in her way.

Jaune standing by her side as they stood amongst the last remains of the hoard.

' _It took me two years to reach this level of control. I could never have done this in the original timeline, not with the aura levels I had back then. But with my new levels, I can easily control this new ability, because this time...'_ she thought as she turned her head to the boy as he stood behind her, defending her from the beasts.

 _'I have to protect him, no matter what,'_ she thought as they turned to each other and roared as they battled the Grimm.

* * *

Beacon Shuttle

* * *

The Shuttle began to take off as it moved towards the last two survivors that were currently holding off the Grimm. At first, the pilot was against the idea, saying that it was too dangerous and that they should get out of here. But one glare from Glynda put any arguments to rest as they piloted the shuttle towards Jaune and Pyrrha.

Glynda stood at the side hatch as she and Port looked out over the forest, "Keep an eye out for them, I doubt they can last much longer from those things!" she called out against the wind as the portly man nodded.

"What were those things anyway!? I have never seen anything like them in all my life!" he asked as the woman shook her head.

"I have no idea, but I have no doubt Ozpin will need to hear this!" she said as she continued to search the forest.

Meanwhile, the cabin was silent as many of the students were nursing their wounds and were trying to grasp the knowledge of what just happened. Luckily no one was killed, but many were injured and would need more medical attention.

However, things were different for RWBY and JNPR as they were still reeling in the knowledge that Blake was a Faunus. Blake sat in complete silence as Ruby, Yang, Ren and Nora stared at the girl, while Weiss was sitting away from the girl as she seemed to be refusing to look at her.

Blake, on the other hand, was feeling ashamed of allowing her secret to b revealed so easily.

She was afraid of something like this happening, her secret being exposed and people treating her differently - if Weiss's actions were anything to go by. WHich meant she would probably either transfer herself or her out of team RWBY and that something she didn't want to happen.

"So...You're a Faunus?" Ryby said as Blake nodded. "That's cool, they're really cute too," she said as she didn't know what to say.

"Yes Ruby, I am a Faunus, have been since I was born." She said as looked down at her hands.

"Well, that would explain why you like tuna so much?" Yang said as she crossed her arms and thought all about Blake's strange feline like behaviours. Her getting spooked by the vacuum cleaner, her obsession with Tuna and why she didn't seem to partially like dogs.

"But why keep it a secret?" she asked, "Aren't we partners?" she asked as Blake gestured to Weiss as she sat alone at the back of the Shuttle

"I'm a Faunus and my teammate is the daughter of the most despised company amongst the Faunus community, who also has an ongoing grudge against anyone of Faunus birth. I figured it was best I don't tell anyone who I really was, least I am to receive a particularly similar treatment," she said as Ruby nodded.

"Oh...right..." Yang said as she suddenly felt stupid saying that.

"Blake, you have to know that none of us would treat you differently," Ruby said as she placed her hands on hers. "We're friends, besties for life and all that. We would never let anything like race change how we feel about you," she said as Yang nodded.

"Yeah, besides, you and I are partners after all. No matter what, I'm always going to have your back," she said as she grinned at the girl who then turned her attention to Ren and Nora.

"I personally don't care what you are, you're a friend and that's all the matters," Ren said nonchalantly as Blake nodded in respect.

"Yeah! And I think your ears look really cute, too!" Nora said as she stared at the cat ears on the top of her head. The small twitches made Blake blushed at the statement.

"Thank you, all of you...but I think it's not going to be the same with Weiss," she said as they all turned to Weiss as she didn't even register anyone as she sat back from them.

Suddenly the ship rocked as the shuttle landed. Instantly Ren and Nora rushed to the shuttle exit, while Ruby, Yang and Blake stay behind as they looked at Weiss, then followed the pair out the shuttle. Weiss looking back before following behind them.

No one could have possibly predicted what they would come across as Glynda, Port, Nora, Ren and Team RWBY stepped out of the shuttle. They knew they would come across a battlefield, dead Grimm here, large structural damage to the forest and two either exhausted or dead teens.

What they never expected was to come across not a battlefield, but a graveyard of Grimm as nearly a hundred Beowolves and Ursa were slowly dissipating in the wind. The ground was torn asunder, the trees were either splintered or sliced in half and even a Grimm or two was impaled on the branches.

It was an utter massacre.

"By the Gods...they're all dead...There has to be a hundred Grimm here? Did Mister Arc and Miss Nikos do all of this?" Port asked as Team RWBY and NR were looking for their friends.

"What kind of students are they?" Glynda asked as she too looked over the carnage the two had unleashed on the Grimm.

Ruby was desperately searching through the smoke as she tried to find her friends. Suddenly something caught her eye as smoke slowly drifted from the centre of the massacre. Her heart then soared as she saw both Jaune and Pyrrha, sitting in the middle of the battlefield, back to back as they rested from the battle.

"Guys! Everyone! They're over here!" she called out as Jaune and Pyrrha turned to see the rushing people.

"Hey Crater Face," Jaune said weakly even as he bled from his forehead. "Told you they wouldn't kill me," he said as he grinned at Ruby, but then flinched as she pouted and had small tears in her eyes.

"Y-You stupid jerks! How could you make us worry like that, you-you..." she couldn't finish her sentence as she quickly lunged at the pair and grasped them in a big hug.

"I was so worried about you,"

Jaune and Pyrrha looked to each other and then smiled as Pyrrha patted her head. "We're fine Ruby, everything's alright now," she said as Jaune nodded.

"Holy shizz...you guys really went to town on them..." Yang said as she looked over the damage, then blinked as she noticed the black matter sword next to Pyrrha. "What the heck is that?" she asked as Pyrrha held up the sword then released it back into sand.

"Nothing to worry about, it's just part of my semblance," she said as Ruby would have gone weapons freak, but was too busy hugging her friends. "Holy shizz, is that a hammer!?" Yang said as Jaune chuckled and switched Retribution back to its sword form.

"Mister Arc, Miss Nikos," Glynda said as she walked towards the students, "I'm glad to see that you are okay, but when we get back to Beacon, we need to have a serious talk about what happened here," she said as they nodded and were helped up by their friends.

Glynda remained back to observe the battlefield as she felt a strange presence watching over them, but decided not to inquire as they had to get the others back to Beacon.

There was going to be a lot of paperwork and Ozpin needed to know what happened.

* * *

Two Hours Later – Beacon Medical Facility

* * *

Of the twenty-five students that participated in the field trip, only seven of them had been injured. Ten had small cuts and bruises while five were seriously injured and required further medical procedures that the school could not provide and were thus shipped to the hospital in Vale. Two of them, however, was treated for a rapidly depleted aura, with small cuts and abrasions on their bodies.

It was honestly the best outcome to the worst situation that Ozpin could have hoped for as he read over the medical charts.

"Thank you, Miss Gale, be sure update me on any further progress." The woman nodded and left the man as he turned to the three teachers in front of him. "Now, explain to me again. What happened in the Forever Falls Forest? How did this happen?" he asked as Glynda spoke up.

"During the field trip, Cardin Winchester, his team and Jaune Arc separated themselves from the group and appeared to have gone deep into the woods. At the time, there was no Grimm so there was no need to worry. However, when I arrived it seemed Mister Arc and Mister Winchester had an argument. Before I could question the nature of the argument, an Ursa stumbled out of the woods. Before Port, Oobleck or I could engage it, it suddenly began to transform and change right before our eyes. I have honestly never seen anything like it," she said as Port then spoke.

"After which Glynda, Oobleck and I engaged the beast, only for more to emerge from the forest. I have never seen that many Grimm in one place other than invading a village. But we checked the forest prior to getting there, there should not have been that many Grimm in the area," he said as he shook his head.

"How did such a large force a mass overnight? It makes no sense?" he said as Ozpin nodded.

"Were it not for the bravery of Mister Arc and Miss Nikos, we surely would have perished today," he said as they all agreed.

"...Thought it was strange. Right before the Ursa transformed, Mister Arc warned us to get away from it, almost as if he knew that creature was going to transform before it actually happened?" they all shared a strange glance as they recalled the event.

"But that's impossible, how could Mister Arc know that Grimm was going to transform before it happened? It doesn't make sense?" Glynda said as Ozpin placed a hand on his chin in thought.

"Maybe...from your descriptions of the creature, this not the first time he has fought such a beast," he said as they turned to him.

"Before I accepted him into this Academy his father, Roland Arc, told me of an incident that happened nine years ago. Apparently, Mister Arc faced one of the creatures you described and killed it when he was only eight years, even when his own father could not defeat it. It was also the day his aura was awakened," he said as the others stared in awe.

"Mister Arc killed one of those things when he was eight? But that's impossible, Roland was one of the strongest leaders at Beacon Academy and his team was almost on par with team STRQ. How could a child possibly have beaten a monster like that?" Ozpin shrugged his shoulders.

"It's possible to argue that Roland had lost his edge after retiring, raising a family can do that. But he has returned to training and claims his son had more aura awakened that day than anyone he had ever met in his life...more than even himself," he said as all the teachers turned to the door leading to the student's room in the Ward.

"What kind of students do we have?" Oobleck asked as no one knew the answer to that.

* * *

Meanwhile in Jaune and Pyrrha's room after everyone was patched up, after they briefed the teachers about what happened, to which they still refused to tell them the truth about the creatures. Jaune and Pyrrha sat in silence as they had been briefed on what had happened after they stayed behind.

A Grimm attacked a student, Weiss tried to defend him, nearly got killed by a Grimm had Blake not saved her, nearly got killed by the same Grimm and accidentally revealed to the whole class that she was a Faunus. So now history was once again changed for Jaune as events that he had tried to keep intact had been violently altered.

At this point, he didn't know what would happen next.

"So... Blake is a Faunus?" he said as they all nodded. "Makes sense actually, would explain all the Tuna she ate and why her bow twitched every time a bird flew by?" he said as the girl blushed.

"So, you're okay with it?" Ruby asked as the boy nodded.

"You guys already know my stance on the Faunus, I don't really care for her species and I can pretty much tell Pyrrha feels the same way?" he said as she nodded. "So, yeah, I'm okay with her. But I'm more concerned with Weiss," they all turned to her as she stood away from them.

"You going to thank Blake for saving your life? Or are you just going to be an ice queen and ignore her completely because she is a Faunus?" he asked as Pyrrha slapped his shoulder.

"Jaune!"

"What!? Someone needed to say it," he said as Blake shook her head.

"It's fine Jaune, I kind of expected this kind of reaction and I understand. I'll ask Ozpin to transfer me to another team-"

"No you won't," Weiss finally said as they all turned to her. She sighed as she looked to the group.

"I'm not going to pretend this isn't affecting me. I've made my stance on the Faunus and the White Fang quite clear in the past..." she said as they nodded. "But that was mostly because of how the Faun- I mean the White Fang have targeted my families company since my father took over, so most of my prejudice stems from his rather...aggressive reaction to their attacks on us," she said as she rubbed her arm uncomfortably.

"And for a time, I believed him, and shared his view on what he believed the Faunus truly are..." she said as Jaune and Pyrrha were worried about what she would say.

"Look...I'm really confused about how I feel about all this. My father always said that the Faunus cared about only about themselves and would willing kill a human if it furthered their goals. But, after what happened today and Blake saving my life, then discovering her secret...I'm starting to believe that maybe he was wrong about the Faunus as a people," she said as they were slightly stunned at this.

"Blake willingly saved my life, when it would have been easier to just leave me to die. The fact that she saved me, showed that...I really am ignorant of the world. So..." she took a huge breath and turned to the girl.

"I'm sorry about what I said about Faunus and I hope you can forgive me," she said as they all blinked at this, certainly not expecting that.

"But this still doesn't change my feelings of the White Fang, there's still too much blood to forgive their actions...but I'm willing to understand what it's like to be a Faunus if you would?" she asked as Blake looked at the girl in shock before hanging her head.

"Thank you, Weiss...but there's something you should know about me," she said as Jaune flinched slightly knowing what she would say. "You see I used to be part of the White Fang and-"

"Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah! I don't want to hear it. I'm just getting over the knowledge you're a Faunus, let's not complicate this any further, okay? Besides you just said you 'used' to be part of the White Fang, correct?" she said as she nodded. "Then that's all I need to know," she said as she turned away, all the while the others were smiling at her.

Jaune and Pyrrha sighing in relief as they were glad that was over.

"Well~ Now that that's out of the way..." Ruby said as she spun around and faced Jaune and pointed a finger straight at him. "Why didn't you tell me your sword could also become a hammer!?"

"That's what you're focused about!?" he said as she stood right in front of his face.

"Don't change the subject, Jaune! What else can your sword do! Tell me!" she said as Nora nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah!" she said as Jaune folded his arms.

"I told you, that's a secret," he said as she then puffed her cheeks and started pounding her small fists on his chest.

"Tell me!" she screamed as she barraged the boy with her tiny fists. Weiss placing her face in her palm as sighed, while Yang and Nora could only laugh at the sight. Even Pyrrha, Ren and Blake only chuckled at the interaction.

"Ruby! Stop! I'm still injured!" he begged as she ignored him.

"Never!" she said as she continued to pound her harmless fists on him. Jaune needed a distraction and he found one.

"Pyrrha can make weapons out of Iron Sand with her semblance!" he said as Pyrrha snapped her head to him.

"Jaune!" she said as Ruby the snapped her head to her, eyes wide with stars as she then sped over to Pyrrha's bed and proceeded to do the exact same thing.

"Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" she repeated as Pyrrha chuckled nervously at the younger girl's intense focus, while also glaring at Jaune with a huge case of stink eye. Said boy only chuckled as he knew he was going to pay for it later.

But totally worth it.

He then took the chance to look at the scene as all his friends were laughing and joking about Ruby's obsession with Weapons. It made him glad that they survived they ambush in the forest, but it also made him realise that he could no longer just follow the timeline anymore, not with the Grimm King actively targeting him.

Today was too close, and it nearly cost him his friends. But he still couldn't tell Ozpin, he knew now that he couldn't just wait for the enemy to attack.

It was time he went on the offensive.

' _If the Grimm King wants to interfere with the timeline...then it's time I did too,'_ he thought as he then raised himself out of bed.

"All right everyone, listen up!" he said as they all turned to him.

"Today was, for lack of a better word, chaotic. We got caught with our pants down and it nearly got us killed. That cannot happen again. I think it would be best, if all of us started training together, bonded better as a team and build up our strength. We still don't know where those creatures came from, but I doubt they are going to be the last," he said as he felt a wave of nostalgia as if he was directing troops again.

"So, I propose, that starting next week, Teams RWBY and JNPR start acting like one team. We form a new team together that will help each other out and fight the monsters that no one can. We eight can be best and strongest team in all of Remnant," he declared as turned to Ruby.

"If it would be all right with my fellow leader?" he asked as Ruby blinked then smiled.

"You bet, Jaune! We'll be the best team in the world!" she declared as she got a roar of approval from Nora and Yang,

"Yeah! We'll be unbeatable!" Yang said while Nora smashed an expensive piece of equipment in her excitement.

While a more controlled response from Weiss, Pyrrha, Ren and Blake as they supported the idea. Pyrrha smiling as she saw him stand up as a true leader, the leader she knew he could be and the leader he was in the time that never existed.

"And on that note, Pyrrha?" Jaune said as he then turned to Pyrrha. "Would you like to go on a date with me next Saturday?"

Absolute silence drowned the medical ward as all seven faces stared at the boy as he still stood tall in front of them with a huge shit eating grin on his face. No one moved, no one breath and no one made a sound as they registered what he just said...

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" they all screamed at once, while Pyrrha sported a huge blush on her face, all the while Jaune continued to smile knowing things will turn out differently this time.

* * *

Forever Falls Forest

* * *

The bodies of the Ursa Grandeur and Beowolves lay amongst the forest floor as their bodies still decayed, despite being killed a mere three hours ago. It turned out that those blessed by the Grimm King lasted long in death as they were flooded with his power.

A shadow slowly emerged from the ground as the shadow looked out amongst the massive bodies that littered the floor. It grinned as it raised its hand as the symbol glowed on its hand.

The bodies rapidly disintegrated as they swarmed to the shadow, his eyes glowing brightly from the shadow as the Grimm King grinned in delight.

His body began to change as black bones slowly began to take shape as hands, feet and soon a skull slowly formed on the being. Red eyes slowly formed in the skulls eyes as small amounts of red muscle began to grow and take shape on the skeleton before it stopped as a partially formed skeletal being stood in the centre of the forest.

It looked down at its partially formed hands as the symbol burned brightly on the back of his hand. It grinned as a dark shadow like cloak shrouded the being as he turned in the direction of Beacon.

" **...J... Jaune...Arc..."** it rubbed its throat and waggled its newly formed tongue before he grins a terrifying grin being more terrifying, being mostly skeletal.

 **"S-s...sooooonn... sooooon..."** he whispered as he then disappeared into a cloud of shadow and dust. The world never knowing the evil that would be unleashed.

* * *

Omake: Pyrrha v Yang: Dawn of Shipping - suggested by Kratos1989

* * *

Three weeks ago, at the Beacon Training Arena, Cardin was thrown out of the ring for the sixth time as he went up against Jaune. The boy would show no tactic, charge in head first and get his ass handed to him. "Gods, now I know why Cardin found this amusing," he said as he sheathed his sword to his back.

"Well done today Mister Arc, another victory," Glynda said as the boy nodded, while Cardin mumbled on his way out of the ring.

"Now, the Next match will be Pyrrha Nikos versus...Yang Xiao Long," she said as the two students walked out onto the field. Jaune high-fiving his partner as he walked out, while Yang managed to slap him on the butt, causing him to jump slightly and stare at the girl who winked at him.

Something that irked Pyrrha slightly.

"The Match will now begin," Glynda said as she raised her arm. "Start!" she said as the buzzer rang out and the pair charged at each other.

Yang's fist instantly clashed Pyrrha's shield as the metal rang out in the arena. Yang and Pyrrha grinned at each other. They then spirited as Pyrrha and Yang clashed against each other, Pyrrha's sword clashing against Yang's explosions as both fought against each other in this heated duel.

"Whoa, they are really going at it," Ruby said as she watched her sister fight Pyrrha.

"Yeah, they're amazing," Jaune said as he leant against the railing.

"Though I can only guess why?" Ren said as they all looked at Jaune, who groaned at their reaction.

Back in the ring, Pyrrha and Yang were still going at it, as Pyrrha had finally managed to calm down, as she found enjoyment in fighting against Yang. Of course, she had to hold back but still enjoyed the match.

"You're really good Yang," Pyrrha said as Yang nodded in return.

"You're not so bad yourself P-Money," Yang said as Pyrrha smiled at her old nickname from a long time ago.

"You two are doing great!" Jaune called out as Pyrrha looked up and smiled at the boy, but then flinched in anger as saw Yang waving back to him in a flirtatious manner.

She glared at this as she gripped her weapons tighter. She knew she shouldn't get so jealous of Yang's flirt's, as she knew that was just part of who Yang was. But she just couldn't stand to see how easy it was that she could do it to Jaune when she could never do it in the old timeline.

' _I needed to reign my emotions in, Yang is a dear friend and someone who was one of the first to support my feelings for Jaune. A little flirting shouldn't bother me..._ '

Yang turned back to Jaune as she winked at the boy, sending a little heart floating to the boy, who managed to dodge out of the way. A blood vessel instantly formed on her head as she gripped so tight the metal strained.

' _She is going down!'_ Red aura flared around the girl as Yang flinched at what she could have sworn was a demon mask appearing behind the girl. But then grinned as she raised her fists up.

"Okay P-Money, let's get this over with-" she stopped as a spear shot past her head and snipped a small strand of hair from her head.

The arena was drowned in silence as Jaune, Ruby, Ren, Weiss and Blake gaped in shock as the small strand of hair floated on the ground and made an almost audible thud.

Yang remained still as her hair shrouded her eyes as she stared at the small strand of hair on the floor. Her fist tightened as her hair started to glow.

Before her aura exploded into a pillar of fire as she roared in anger and charged at the girl. Who roared in anger too and charged at each other as they collided in a show of fire and metal.

The other could only cower slightly as loud explosions and gunshots littered the arena, little could be done to stop them as they cowered from the sounds of loud explosions. They could have also sworn to hear a cat shriek in amongst the entire chaos.

"...Woman are scary..." Jaune said he cowered with the others.

"Yes, they are," Ren said as the girls continued to fight in the centre of the ring.

The two did reconcile after the match, with Pyrrha apologising for cutting Yang's hair and Yang apologising for egging her one like that. After which they were reprimanded by Miss Glynda and forced to help repair the arena afterwards.

* * *

 **And Scene, well here is Chapter X of Restart. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, I wanted to release it as quickly as I could so that you could all have a conclusion to the fight in the Forever Forest. For Pyrrha's new ability I drew inspiration from everyone's favourite tsundere Mikoto Misaka and her ability to use electromagnetism to manipulate iron in sand.**

 **I figure Pyrrha could do it too if she had been given the chance, to use a similar ability. Proof being in the food fight where she manipulated the cans to swarm, similarly to Misaka in her small battle with Touma on Magical Index.**

 **So, I figure, why not have a similar ability. Reason being that, like Jaune, she has larger aura reserves and nine years of new training to hone and master her skills.** **Plus, I feel like it kind of fits for her semblance. And to answer your question, yes, Jaune's weapons has modes based off his friends. A form of 'Retribution' for all that suffered under Salem's treachery.**

 **Also, I wanted to twist things up with Blake and Weiss, revealing her heritage a bit earlier and seeing what it would do.**

 **Hopefully, I worked it out all right?** **But now, The Grimm King is slowly rising, becoming something more as each Grimm falls to Jaune's blade. And Jaune asking Pyrrha on a Date? Whatever could be the reason?**

 **Find out next time in Chapter XI: A Trip to the Docks**

 **Retribution States:**

 **Mode I – Standard mode: The Standard mode of Retribution is a large heavy sword that uses its weight to increase the strength of its blows. The dust mechanism, based off Mytrenaster, allows Retribution to be covered in any combination of dust provided by the cartridges. The unique Titanium Steel alloy makes the blade near indestructible.**

 **Mode II – Shield Guard: Based of Crocea Mor's Sheath/Shield, the blade expands to become a large shield capable of covering the body from various harm. The combination of Earth Dust, Aura and the Titanium Steel Alloy grant a higher defence.**

 **Mode III – Crocea Revival: Similar in design to Crocea Mor's, Retribution houses a secondary blade within the sword as a sheath which can be ejected in tight situations. When Drawn the sword is revealed to be much thinner then Mode I, as well as having Crocea Mors embedded in the blade. The added sword allows the user to channel Aura and Dust through the blade flawlessly and adds more speed as well as cutting power.**

 **Mode IV – Valkyries Hammer: The sword transforms into a war hammer, utilising the Lightning dust that grants an increase in power and Electric damage. Based off Magnhild of Nora Valkyrie.**


	11. Chapter XI: Date at the Docks

RWBY: Restart

When the world was destroyed and all that he had ever known was taken from him. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future...just not the way he expected.

 **A/N have gone back to the first two chapters and edited them slightly as well as changed the names of Jaune sisters to match with colours. So, just a heads up if you are reading this far and have noticed that I changed their names in later chapters. Just letting you all know, sincerely Masseffect-TxS…start the show!**

* * *

Chapter XI: A Date at the Docks

* * *

Jumping back from the flames, Jaune had little time to react as the beast swung its tail and slammed it into the man – sending him flying out of the school - and shooting him straight towards the docks.

Luckily, he managed to draw Gambol Shroud from his back and used the weapon to hook himself on the remains of a crane – which managed to slow him down. But the force was still too strong and he ended up crashing into the docks.

Emerging from broken crates and splintered wood, Jaune slowly got up as he brushed off the small amounts of rubble from his cloak and looked back towards the school. The Grimm Kings Draconic form burst from the demolished school as its black wings briefly eclipsed the moonlit sky and cast the city in a veil of darkness.

But Jaune was not scared as he merely sheathed Gambol Shroud's katana back into its sheath and pulled out his sword as he held the two blades together prepared for the Grimm Kings attack.

The beast quickly descended upon the man as its loud roar pierced the night as Jaune roared and charged at the beast. The waters of the docks rippling and crashing in waves from the impact as these two titans clashed amongst the ruins of a forgotten city…

* * *

17 Years Later – New Timeline – Beacon Docks

* * *

The sun was shining over the docks of Vale as the people were setting up for the upcoming Vytal Tournament; A festival created to commemorate the end of the Great War between the Kingdoms of Vale, Vacuo, Mistral and the Former Kingdom of Mantle.

To commemorate the end of the Great War, a tournament would be held every year to pit the best from each Academy against one another to determine who was the best.

So, far Beacon held that distinctive title as they had won the last tournament and thus was chosen to hold the tournament. For the world, it was a way to show off the best and strongest of their soon to be Huntsman. For the city, on the other hand, it was a good opportunity for trade as small businesses made a lot of money selling their wares during the festival.

Small stands and vendors were already being set up as a large banner celebrating the Festival was hung over the street, welcoming the new arrivals to Vale. For Jaune, it was just a reminder of how close the invasion was coming. Three weeks from now, the festival would start and students from all over the world would gather to compete in the tournaments.

Only to be slaughtered by an overwhelming hoard of Grimm.

He could still remember the stench of burning flesh that lingered in the air that day, as he and his team fought against the invaders.

The decaying sight of a crumbling city still burned itself into his memory as the people's screams drowned the air amongst the roars and cries of Grimm. It was all so terrifying and confusing at the time...

But it was also that day his partner died, just after she confessed her feelings.

Now he was given a second chance. A chance to change things for the better and hopefully get the peace he deserved after so many years of loneliness and regret. Jaune had a plan to stop it all, to expose Cinder for the murderer and the criminal that she was and hopefully expose all those who assisted her. Like that traitor in Mistral, who he would deal with on a later date. But recent events had caused him some concern.

 _The Grimm King_ had attacked him _again_.

This time using a large hoard of 'Evolved Grimm' to attack him during a simple field trip to the forest. It was sheer luck that no one was killed during the battle. But the attack had forced Oobleck into bed rest for a certain amount of time, while the rest of the students were still recovering from their injuries.

This recent event had made Jaune realise that the Grimm King could attack at any time, and anywhere that he wanted. It meant now that his friends were in more danger than they ever were before, as there was no way telling when he would strike.

So, with little options left – and deciding that he shouldn't care about the cause and effect anymore. Jaune initiated a new plan to find out more about Roman, Cinder and the White Fang. By asking Pyrrha out on a Date…

Okay, here him out on this.

Becuase of several alterations to the timeline, Jaune had been unprepared for the recent events that had transpired.

Such as the Ursa Mega attacking his home as a child, the Chimera appearing during the initiation exam and the Grimm hoard that had attacked him and his friends a week ago during the field trip. These events could have killed all his friends and thrown everything he had worked for into ruin.

Not to mention the other alterations to the timeline that advanced certain _events_ much faster than he expected. Such as Blake's secret being revealed a week earlier then it was intended being one of them.

Which was bad for Jaune's plan.

Having her secret revealed so soon meant that there would be no reason for her to run away from Weiss and stumble on to Roman's operation at the Docks. Which also meant that she would never meet Sun, who would prove instrumental in helping her face her White Fang Past.

No Sun, No finding out about the White Fang.

Which meant the Pre-Invasion would play out differently and everything Jaune had planned for would be thrown into chaos.

So, seeing as trying to maintain the timeline exactly as it used to be was hopeless at this point, he decided to do something that he knew would grab his friend's attention.

Asking out Pyrrha on a date.

See, his friends and teammates had no idea they had been secretly dating for the past three months – somehow managing to keep their relationship a secret from Nora of all people – because they did not want to alter anything in the timeline by going out together so soon. But after the attack on the field trip and the previous attacks, they realised there was little point in trying to keep everything running the same way.

So, they thought why not change things the way they wanted it to go, instead of how it went?

Not that they weren't trying to change things before, but now they just didn't care about the consequences. But also, it gave them the chance to date and experience the simple pleasure of love that they had long since been denied or forsaken in the alternate world.

Even if it only took them seventeen years later and being reborn in a new timeline…

Better late than never, right?

And here is where we find Jaune Arc, as he leaned against the railings of the docks.

He was dressed in a dark red shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the buttons opened up half way to reveal a dark orange shirt underneath. He wore black jeans, with his old sneakers that he used to wear in the original timeline before trading them in for the combat boots. In appearance, he looked like a normal civilian.

However, he did have his combat pistol strapped to his back waist and a few throwing knives hidden under his shirt – a habit he had developed from always being armed wherever he went in the future.

He looked down at his scroll as he watched the time turn from 8:59 to 9:00 am as placed the device away.

He looked around as ships slowly came into port and people began to pile off, taking in the sights of all that Vale had to offer. Jaune narrowed his eyes as he saw students from Haven Academy coming off the ships. He wondered how many of them would react when they found out that someone amongst them was a traitor.

That they sold their soul to the devil herself to save their own skin, only to suffer for it later.

"Deal with it as it comes, no need to get angry about it now," Jaune told himself as he leaned back on the railing.

"Jaune!" he heard his name being called out, as he turned to the direction he heard the voice.

His eyes widened briefly as he saw Pyrrha running towards him. But the reason he was stunned slightly was that of the outfit she was wearing.

Instead of her battle clothes or school uniform, Pyrrha had opted to come in a red dress with a black three-quarter opened sweater over the top. She also had on a pair of dark brown boots with black stockings that went up to her thighs that instantly drew Jaune's attention to her legs as he felt a small blush on his cheeks.

She also had decided to remove her circlet, but still wore the small metal band on the small braid at the side of her face.

In all honesty, Jaune thought she was beautiful.

"Sorry I took so long, I hope I didn't keep you waiting?" she asked as Jaune still stared at the girl. "Jaune?" she repeated as he managed to snap out of his daze.

"Ah! No! No, you didn't I only just got here a few minutes ago," Pyrrha sighed in relief.

"I'm glad, I spent all morning trying to pick out the right outfit. I hope it's not too much?" she asked as Jaune only shook his head.

"N-No, you look great, beautiful even," he said as she blushed in response. "Well then," he said as he held out an arm. "Shall we commence this date, my lady?" he asked as she chuckled then nodded.

"Yes, yes, we shall, Sir Knight." she lopped her hand in his and began their date.

Meanwhile, at a short distance from the pair. A group of six individuals hide behind a building, as all of them were cleverly disguised to hide from the pair. Though they were not very convincing disguises, as most of them had either a trench coat and glasses, a wrestler mask or even just a fake moustache…

Super Spies they were not

" _Why_ are we _following_ them again?" Weiss asked as she was wearing a trench coat, a fake moustache on her top lip and shaded glasses on her face. While covering her long white hair in a large sunhat with small strands of hair falling out the sides.

"Because! Fearless Leader suddenly just upped and asked Pyrrha on a _date_! A DATE! And none of us noticed!? – And while I am happy my OTP has been confirmed – I find it a little too suspicious!" Nora said as she readjusted her trench coat, her glasses and fedora.

"But, _why_ are we following them? Can't they just date in peace?" Blake asked as she was forced to come along – wearing a wrestler's mask with a tiger design over the face and a poncho – as she looked more bored than anything.

"You try and tell Nora that," Ren said as he too was dressed up in a disguise. A large parka over his body with the fur collar covering his face with a hat on top leaving only his eyes peeking out of the disguise.

"Well, I'm with Nora on this one," Yang had a medical mask over her mouth, her aviator glasses, a fedora and a large trench coat covering her body.

"Something is really fishy about this whole date thing. Hot stuff just asking out P-Money out of nowhere – when they've only been partners for only a few months. That is suspicious and I'm going to get to the bottom of it!" she said as she hid around the telephone pole.

"…Aren't you just jealous?"

Ruby claimed while wearing a medical mask over her face and her red cloak tucked into her clothing. The blond girl seemed to just ignore her and glare at the pair, as she and the others hid behind the pole. Perfectly disguised from the unaware duo…or so they thought.

"Our friends make terrible spies, don't they?"

She chuckled slightly as they walked around the markets.

* * *

They spent most of the day tighter as they did small things like window shopping, eating at a small café and simply enjoying a rather pleasant date. But the truth was they were just buying time. From what Jaune could remember - from what Ruby had told him in the future. Sun was set to arrive at the docks later this afternoon.

Then he and Blake would stumble upon Roman attempting to steal a large shipment of Dust from Atlas at the docks two days from now. That was when everything had begun and that was where they needed to be.

However, in this timeline, Blake's secret had been discovered earlier than expected. She and Weiss reacted differently to it and Weiss seemed to be more understanding of Blake's past this time around. Mostly due to Blake risking her life to save Weiss – as she admitted she understood Blake's past decisions in the White Fang. She didn't agree with it, but she understood.

Luckily the two of them were slowly coming to grips with each other, as Jaune knew that the two would become the best of friends in the end.

The main problem though was they now needed a new excuse to get them to the docks to meet up with Sun and somehow get them to investigate the dock thefts. So, Jaune decided what was the best way to draw his friends out to the docks?

Go on a date with his partner. Simple, effective and it allowed for the perfect opportunity to meet up with Sun. Also, it was a good opportunity for the pair to finally have the date they never got to have, a bonus if did say so himself. It wasn't long until the pair stopped at a small café and ordered them a cup of coffee.

His friends right behind them a few tables away as they tried to hide behind large newspapers with holes cut into them. This only drew more attention to them as everyone else in the café stared, while Jaune and Pyrrha just pretended to not notice them.

"You've got to admire their persistence at least," Jaune said as he drank his coffee. "Though, their surveillance skills could use some work," he said as Pyrrha chuckled at them.

"I'm sure it would be a completely different story if Blake took it seriously, or Ren for that matter," she said as he nodded, knowing full well how true that statement was.

"This is nice, just being here, with you. It almost makes me forget about what's going to happen," she said as he nodded.

"Me too, I kind of just want to forget everything else and just stay like this, forever." He reached over and placed her hand near hers as she grabbed it with her own.

"One day Jaune, after all of this is over, we'll find a place and just forget everything." Their fingers laced together as they smiled at each other. Just happy being in this one moment of bliss.

Meanwhile, at the other tables, the others were watching as they spied them from the holes cut out of the large newspaper.

"They seem to be having a good time," Ren said as he was not entirely comfortable spying on his friends. "Maybe we should just leave them alone and let them have their date?" he asked as he got a furious no from Yang.

"Figures" he sighed as he managed to order himself a coffee, even though they were eavesdropping on the couple.

' _Why do I always have to be dragged into stuff like this?'_

A short time later the two had left the café and were now wandering the streets again. If memory had served Jaune correctly, there was supposed to have been a break in around here that would cause the initial divide between Blake and Weiss.

Hopefully, his interactions with Junior hadn't scared of his goons to help Roman, whether he robbed that place with the White Fang members or not. Either way, he needed to find something that would cause team RWBY to investigate the White Fang.

Luckily, he found just what he was looking for.

"Hey, what's that?" he asked Pyrrha, obviously louder so that the others could hear as they all turned to see a store that was completely wrecked from the inside out.

Plates of glass scattered across the pavement, wood splintered around the windows and doors. And the smell of fire dust lingered in the air.

This had all the makings of Roman.

Walking over, they stopped just at the police line as they looked at the damage. The others, seemingly forgetting that they were hiding from the pair, walked over as well as they too looked at all the damage.

"What happened here?" Ruby asked as one of the officers turned to her.

"Dust Robbery, third one this week. This city's turning into a jungle," he muttered as they all looked back to the store.

"That's awful, I can't believe someone would do this," Yang said as Jaune nodded.

"Yeah, it's almost as bad as having your friends tail you on a date, huh?" Jaune said as she nodded.

A beat of silence echoed between them as it was then that they remembered that they were supposed to be hiding from the pair, and snapped their heads back to Jaune and Pyrrha. Both of whom were just grinning at the lot.

"You guy makes terrible spies, by the way, you know that?" he said as they sputtered and stuttered trying to come up with an excuse.

"Save it, we know you've been following us for the last three hours," Pyrrha said as they started back in muted silence.

"…So…you've known…for three hours we were following you?" Ruby asked as the pair nodded. "T-Then why didn't you say anything!?" she shrieked with a face full of red, to which they just shrugged and said.

"We were having too much fun," they said with small grins as they all fell over exhausted.

Ren just sighed and held a palm to his face and Nora laughed. Jaune himself chuckled as he relished this small moment, this uninterrupted moment of peace and calm that he wished could last forever.

"Still, it doesn't make sense…who would steal that much dust?"

But like all things in his life, it came to a sudden end, as they all turned back to the officers as they stood near the store.

"I don't know, maybe an army?"

"What, like the White Fang? But why would they go to all this trouble just to steal dust?"

"I don't know, I'm not paid enough to guess why…"

"Good point, besides, this whole city is turning into a Jungle anyway," they both turned away and out of earshot of the eight teens, who turned their heads to Weiss as they expected her to say something offensive or racial about this whole situation.

"What?" she asked as Ruby gulped.

"Now, Weiss, before you say anything-"

"Seriously!? You all thought I was going to something offensive about this!?" she screeched as they all had guilty looks on their faces.

"Well~…you don't exactly have the ' _Best'_ track record when it came to the White Fang," Yang said as she scratched the back of her head. "So, we just assumed that you'd…you know…say something…offensive?" Weiss just stared at them all and then exploded.

"Unbelievable!" she screeched as she threw her hands up in the air and started to storm away.

"I can't believe every single one of you thought I would say something offensives! Especially after everything that happened last week!" she screamed as bystanders quickly ushered away from her, while the gathered eight had to recoil at her voice. She sighed as she rubbed a hand on her forehead.

"I can kind of understand why you would come to that conclusion, makes me wonder how you all see me?" she glared slightly as they chuckled nervously.

"But I can assure you that my history with the White Fang won't affect us. I've already _forgiven_ Blake for her… _past_ …and I know that not everything is as black and white like I was raised to believe," she said as Blake nodded in understanding.

"But," she said as she looked at the damage. "That doesn't mean they may, or _may_ _not_ , have had a hand in this." She said as she looked at the others. "I mean recently the number of Dust heists has been increasing lately, like the one with the Companies trains a few months ago," Blake suddenly started to whistle nonchalantly.

"Still, it could have been that Torchwick guy I fought," Ruby interrupted as she thought about the bowler hat wearing man.

"I mean, the police still haven't caught him yet, and he was stealing Dust last time I saw him. Maybe he was responsible for this?"

"What do you think Blake, reckon the White Fang had anything to do with this?" Yang asked as Blake looked at the busted store.

"I…I don't know. Part of me wants to believe it wasn't them, but another part can't help but think it was." She looked at a broken shard next to her feet, as a reflection of a bull Faunus briefly flashed in the reflection.

"Before I left, the White Fang was doing a lot of things I can't say I'm proud of…but I refuse to believe that the organization I was once a part of would even need that much dust, I just can't." She said as she waved her hand to the destroyed store.

Jaune and Pyrrha on the other hand already knew that the culprits were both Roman and the White Fang. An unlikely partnership that was being funded by Salem and one of her lackeys – Cinder – to spread further chaos and fear amongst the citizens of Vale. It was a cruel and ruthless plan, but effective nonetheless.

Which was why Jaune and Pyrrha agreed, that it had to stop. One way or the other.

"You know, There could be a way to prove if it was them or not. We just need to catch whoever is behind this in the act and prove whether it was them or not," Jaune said as they all just stared at him. Blake on the other hand just smiled sadly as she shook her head.

"Thanks, but, I'd rather not get you all involved in something from my past. This is something I have to do on my own-GAH!" a swift chop came down on her head as she turned to glare at her partner.

"Like hell you are! We're partners! Which means your problems, are my problems" Yang crossed her arms and grinned at the girl.

"Yeah! Team RWBY sticks together!" she proclaimed Nora whooped in the background. Weiss on the other hand just nodded as she stood beside her own partner, no matter how embarrassing she was being right now.

"And we're friends," Pyrrha said as she and the rest of Team JNPR stood beside her. "We never turn our backs on friends," she said as Jaune nodded and raised a thumb to the girl who could only stare in shock and slowly smiled at the seven.

"Thank you…" she said with a small voice but loud enough for all of them to hear.

"Still," Ruby asked as she looked around the store, "What are we supposed to do? I mean it's not like we can just ask someone where Torchwick or the White Fang is, how are we supposed to find them?" she asked as Nora then appeared before them.

"Elementary my dear Ruby!"

They all jumped back and stared at the girl, who had somehow put on a detective outfit had a cork pipe blowing bubbles and a large magnifying glass. The strangest thing, however, was how she somehow got Ren into a similar costume?

"We have to observe the crime scene and look for clues!" she said as she bent over and stared at the broken glass on the ground with a large magnifying glass. Completely ignoring the police tape and wandering all over the crime scene. Yet somehow not gaining the attention of the two other detectives…

Vale Law Enforcement was a joke.

"Or~ we could narrow down our search," Jaune said as he turned away from the impending complication. "We know that the thief is targeting Dust – and in large amounts of it. So, we just need to anticipate where they'll target next," he said as the others nodded at that.

"But how are we supposed to do that?" Yang asked as she pointed to every other Dust store in the area. "There are literally hundreds of other Dust stores in the city, how the heck are we supposed to find which one they'll go after next?" she asked as Pyrrha placed a hand to her chin.

"Then we'll need to find someone who knows about any large shipments of Dust coming in or out of Vale. Someone like a store clerk, an employee…or the Heiress of an entire Dust Corporation?" she asked with a knowing smirk as she then turned to Weiss.

"Weiss, how does Dust usually get shipped over here?" she asked as Weiss pondered for a moment.

"From what I know, Dust is usually shipped straight from Atlas and unloaded at the Docks here in Vale. Then its distributed across the Kingdom of Vale through smaller shipping methods like trains, ships or Bullheads if the roads are too dangerous. After that they are stored at any of our warehouse facilities in the major Kingdoms" she said as Jaune nodded.

"So that narrows down our target, the Docks being the closest warehouse I can think of, but when is the next shipment coming in? Because I doubt they just broadcast it openly, and I'm not sure even _you_ have that level of clearance with your own company yet, do you?" he asked Weiss as she shook her head. "Figures," he said as he pondered.

"Then we need to think of other sources, like information brokers, snitches or-!"

"Hey! Stop that Faunus! He snuck on-board without paying!"

"Try and catch me if you can!"

They all turned to the docks as they heard angry workers and jovial laughter at someone else's. "…Or a stowaway could work?" He instantly recognised the voice and they all ran to the docks.

As soon as they arrived Jaune had a moment of nostalgia, as he remembered long ago of a monkey-tailed man wearing red armour and wielding a long red pole, as they stood side by side against a large hoard of Grimm. He was a lot younger then he remembered and he defiantly had a cheekier side that came with youth. But Jaune could never forget the man he considered a friend.

Sun Wukong - one of his oldest and most trusted friend during his time in the Second Great War.

Sun smirked as he jumped off the boat and easily avoided the dock workers while also grabbing a banana from one of the crates and then sitting atop a lamppost.

"You no good stowaway!" one of them yelled as Sun smirked.

"Hey! I take offence to that! I am a great stowaway!" he said as he ate the banana and then threw it at one of the detectives that came to apprehend him.

"Nora…" Jaune said as she turned to him. "Capture," he ordered as she grinned.

Sun effortlessly backflipped off the lamppost as he landed and made a bolt away from the docks, time slowing down as he passed Team RWBY and he winked at Blake…

Only to then be clotheslined by Nora as she managed to stretch out her arm and slam him into the ground.

Small Nora shaped heads circled around the boy's head as everyone else just stared in shock. She then picked him up and placed him on her shoulder.

"I got him, boss!"

"Good job Nora! Now cheese it!" he yelled as they all then dashed away from the still stunned crowd, as the cops merely watched the eight teens carry away the unconscious stowaway on the orange haired girl's shoulders.

"…What the hell just happened?" the detective asked, as his partner shook his head.

"I…have no idea, and I honestly don't care…I don't get paid enough for this," he said as he just walked away.

* * *

Meanwhile, with Teams RWBY & JNPR

* * *

The eight just turned a corner as they continued to run from the cops, even though they weren't pursuing them.

"I think we lost them!"

"Were they even chasing us!?"

"No clue! But I'm not taking any chances!"

They rounded a corner, then came to a screeching halt as Weiss ploughed into someone. Everyone else came to a stop as they just stared at the person that Weiss had run into. Jaune instantly recognised the person she ran into, while Pyrrha had wide and fearful eyes.

Laying on the ground was a teenage girl with shoulder length orange curly hair with a small ahoge at the top.

She wore a pink bow, a whitish-grey old-fashioned blouse with short grey feminine overalls, as well as a black and green collar with a matching pair of stockings.

Instantly flashes of a bisected girl came to them as Pyrrha felt her heart lurch in her chest and a cold sweat begin to drip down her face, as she just stared at the girl she had 'killed' in a time long ago. And honestly, this was the last person Jaune or Pyrrha ever thought they would run into…

Penny Polendina…the machine with a human soul…and the first casualty of the Second Great War

Jaune instantly grabbed hold her hand as he tried his best to comfort the girl, while the others just stared at the girl on the ground. "Sal-u-tations!" she said as Pyrrha felt her heart beat increase rapidly as Jaune subtly held her hand and did his best to calm her down.

"Um…are you alright?" Yang asked as the girl nodded.

"I'm wonderful, how are you?" she asked as she remained on the floor.

"Do you…want to get up?" Blake asked as she seemed to ponder the thought for a moment.

"…Yes," she then sprung up to her feet and stood before the group, who backed off slightly from the strange girl.

"A pleasure to meet you all, my name is Penny Polendina…um…why do you have an unconscious boy over your shoulder?" she asked as they instantly remembered they still had Sun.

"Oh shoot! That's right, we need to ask this guy some questions!" Nora said as she placed the boy against the wall. And then proceeded to slap the side of his face and instantly woke him up.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL! DID I GET HIT BY A BUS OR SOMETHING!?" he stopped as looked around at the gathered nine, his eyes instantly drawn to Blake as they just stared into his other eyes.

"Well hello there~ What's your name?" he asked as Blake raised an eyebrow to the boy.

"…Blake, Blake Belladonna. And you are?"

"Sun, Sun Wukong, a pleasure to meet you," he said with a smile as Jaune rolled his eyes.

"Hey, knock off the flirting there Romeo," Yang said as she crossed her arms.

"Okay first off, names not Romeo. I 'ant Neptune for crying out loud and …and did you guys just kidnapped me?" he asked as Jaune shook his head,

"Not kidnapped, 'acquired', to answer some questions." He explained as Sun raised an eyebrow.

"Right~ …So, any particular reason you guys just decided 'acquire' me? Cause I doubt it was to get to know me, and who are you guys anyway?" he asked as he looked at them all.

"Well, my name is Jaune and this Pyrrha and my teammates, Nora and Ren. We're Team JNPR," he said as they all waved at him,

"And I'm Ruby and these are my friends, Weiss, Blake and my sister Yang. We're Team RWBY," she said as they all nodded at the sound of their name.

"And I'm Penny, Penny Polendina…I just met them," she said as they all turned to her and looked at her strangely. Pyrrha stayed a good distance from Penny. Regret and guilt subtly lingering in her eyes as she was afraid to stand near the girl.

"Anyway, the reason we grabbed you was that we need to ask you some questions. Ones that we think only you can answer." Jaune explained as the boy raised an eyebrow.

"It's fair to say you spent a good deal of time on that ship back there, right? Have you by chance heard of any large shipments of Dust coming into Vale anytime soon?" he shrugged.

"Maybe, why do you want to know?" he asked as Jaune nodded.

"Well see over the past couple of months there has been a large series of Dust thefts in the City. Large amounts of Dust are being stolen all across the City and the police are starting to suspect it's being done by The White Fang, you heard of them?" Sun nodded at this.

"Oh yeah, I know about the White Fang. Practically every Faunus on the planet knows about them. Bunch of holier-than-thou creeps, who think they can get anything they want by force. They're nothing but a bunch of freaks if you ask me," everyone around him, save for Blake and Penny, slapped their foreheads as Blake hung her head.

"…I used to be a member,"

Sun instantly adopted an 'Oh Shit I Just Fucked Up' look as the others just glared at him.

"Smooth Move Monkey Boy," Yang said as Sun just chuckled nervously.

"W-Wait a minute! You were a member of the _White Fang!?_ " he asked as she nodded and then turned to the others. "And you all know?" they all nodded at this, as he then looked at Weiss as he instantly recognised her as a Schnee.

"Even her?" he asked a Weiss adopted a cross look as she was about to snap at the boy, had Ruby not held a hand over her mouth.

"Yeah, we know about Blake's past and none of that matters to us," Yang said as she crossed her arms. "What matters now is proving whether or not the Organization that she used to…be a part of, is really behind all this, or if it's just a rumour that's being maliciously spread around to make them look bad," Jaune hung his head as he knew the truth already.

"In any case, we need to know if you've heard anything. Anything at all that can help us?" Ren asked as the boy pondered for a moment.

"Hmm…I may have heard of a shipment, a large one, in fact. Something like the guys you're looking for might be after. But why should I help you? I only just met you guys," he asked as Jaune crossed his arms.

"Well First: If you help us, we won't leave you for the cops to find,"

"…That is a good one reason, I'd rather not spend my time in a jail cell…again"

"Second: It would be bad if a Student from another country was detained before the Vytal Festival even began, it would look bad for your school and I can only guess you don't want to get into too much trouble," he said as Sun raised an eyebrow.

"Your weapons give you away and from what I heard that ship you arrived on came from Mistral, correct? If I had to guess, I'd say you're a Haven Student, right?" he asked as Sun blinked and then nodded.

"What are you a Detective or something?" he asked as Jaune shrugged.

"Eh, I see myself as more of a 'Mystery Bunch' kind of guy," the others chuckled at this.

"And Third: For some reason, I believe you're not the type of guy that just sits back while others need help. To me, you seem like someone who would willingly stick his neck out for strangers, even if you hardly knew them. I mean, you are a huntsman in training after all?" he said as Sun just stare at him.

"And mainly because we think you're the only person who can help our friend here find out the truth…whatever it might be," he said as gestured to Blake as the two just stared at each other.

"…Alright, I'll help. Man, you are really good at profiling people, aren't you?" he said as Jaune shook his head.

"No…I just have good instincts," he held out a hand and helped him up.

"Okay, so from what I heard there is a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas, like _huge,_ probably the amount your 'Perps' might be after. It will be here in about two days' time, that's what the ship hands said," he said as they all nodded.

"Okay, so we have our location and we have out time. Now, all we need to do is be there when the time is right," Jaune said as he looked at everyone. "What we are about to do might get us in trouble, you guy's ready for any consequences that will come of this little action?" he asked as they all shared a look with each other and then nodded.

"Okay, we'll meet back at the docks in two days. Nobody says any of this to the teachers, the last thing we need is to get the local authorities involved just yet. Can't have it turning into a shoot-out _if_ it turns out to be the White Fang," Jaune said as they all nodded.

"What about me?" Penny asked as everyone turned to her. "Am I a part of this too?" she asked as everyone shared a glance with each other.

"…Oh yeah, forgot about her," Yang said as Weiss slapped her upside the head, not that it fazed her.

Jaune, on the other hand, hadn't considered how he would have enlisted Penny in this part of the plan. Mostly because he had mentally blocked her from his mind after she died by his partner's hands.

Not that he didn't care about her, no sir – it's just that her death was the moment his partner was tricked and he tried not to remember the girl that died because of it. But she was still essential to the Battle at the Dock's and he'd rather not change that aspect of the timeline.

Question was, how was he going to do it? He knew that she was an android and he knew that she would more than likely report this to Ironwood or the teachers at Beacon Academy, and that would just cause a whole heap of trouble.

What was he going to do?

Luckily, it seemed fate had other plans as Ruby walked up to her.

"Um…sure, if you want to? We're trying to help out our friend and it's important that we help her, it's what friends do after all. If you like, you could be our friend too and help us?" Ruby's teammates snapped their head to the leader, while Penny's eyes were wide with an odd mixture of awe and hope.

"Really? You would want me to be your friend?"

Ruby looked back to her teammates as they were shaking their heads, while Ren and Nora did nothing to indicate their thoughts. Jaune and Pyrrha, on the other hand, were different. Jaune was nodding as if telling her that he should, while Pyrrha seemed more distant but approving nonetheless.

"Sure, why not?" she said as team RWBY gaped at their leader, while Penny's eyes widened and a bright smile came upon her face.

"Sensational!" she proclaimed as she scooped up Ruby in a tight hug. Briefly forgetting she was an android and forgot to limit her strength.

"Too tight!" Ruby managed to get out in breaths as Penny dropped her back on the ground and started bouncing on her own two feet.

"This is amazing! We can paint our nails, try on clothes and talk about cute boys!" she seemed to gush over the many things she could now do with friends as Ruby stood back up and stood next to Weiss.

"Oh…is this what it was like when you met me?" she asked as Weiss shook her head.

"No - she seems _far_ more coordinated," she said as Ruby slightly pouted at the girl.

"Anywho, now that you're helping us, can you fight? We don't want a civilian to get hurt after all," Yang said as Penny nodded.

"Of course, I'm here to fight in the tournament after all. I'm fully combat ready!" she said with a salute that made Weiss raise an eyebrow.

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part." She said as she gestured to the girl's attire, unaware of what she was truly capable of.

"Says the girl wearing a dress?" Blake commented as Weiss huffed at that.

"It's a combat skirt!" she declared as Ruby speeds over to Weiss' side.

"Yeah!" she said Weiss holds out her hand and Ruby low-fives it. While Nora dragged Pyrrha over and stood next to them, her arms crossed with gangster shades on her face.

"Represent the Skirt Sisters! Peace!" she said as she dropped a microphone – from gods knows where – and thumped her chest, while Ren palmed himself.

"So, will you help us?" Jaune asked as the girl nodded rapidly.

"Of course, I am more than happy to help my new friends! Oh! I have to go tell my father of the good news! I have friends!" she said as she started to bolt away. "Oh! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about the docks! I'll see you at the docks in two days! Goodbye my friends!" she yelled as she left a trail of dirt in her wake and a stunned audience as well.

"Well…that was something," Yang said as the others nodded. "Sure, we can trust her?" she asked as Jaune nodded.

"Yeah, I've got a good feeling about her. Besides, we might need all the help we can get it Is the White Fang. That being said…" he then turned to the others as he handed Sun a piece of paper. "Here's our contact info, meet us at the Docks at 5 pm and we'll plan our next move," he said as Sun nodded.

"Can do man, see you guys later…" he said with a wink towards Blake before he too bolted away, leaving only the Beacon Students behind.

"We should also head back as well, we got a lot of planning to do before the Docks," he said seeing as their date was now officially over.

They all nodded and decided to head back to the school, to prepare and ready themselves for the day after tomorrow. But as the others began to walk back to the airbuses. Pyrrha and Jaune remained behind as Jaune looked to his partner. A cold silence lingered between them as Jaune walked over to his partner, as she stared off into the direction of Penny.

"You okay? That probably wasn't easy for you, seeing her again like that?"

"…No…I'm alright Jaune, I just…I just wasn't expecting to see her so soon, not like this anyway," she said as Jaune nodded.

"I know what you mean, Ruby never told me how she actually met Penny. I just assumed it was sometime before the Pre-Invasion when the students arrived. I didn't know it was today, I'm sorry." he cursed himself for not knowing this bit of information. Pyrrha shook her head as she walked over to a street railing.

"It's alright Jaune, I knew I would see her again eventually. I just…I just can't look at her and not remember what I did to her during the tournament. The look on her face the moment I killed her, the moment I lost control of my semblance and ripped her to pieces, it still haunts me…how can I ever look at her and not be reminded of that day? How can she forgive me if she ever found out? …Could she forgive me?" Jaune sighed as he walked over and placed a gentle hand on top of hers.

"Pyrrha…I may not have known Penny as well as Ruby did. But I can already tell that she isn't the type to hold a grudge, even if it hasn't happened yet. She's Ruby's friend, after all, she can't be that bad, right?" she chuckled at that.

"And it wasn't your fault, it was Emerald and Cinder's remember? They're the ones that tricked you – they are responsible for her death, not you. And it hasn't even happened yet so there's still time to stop it. We can _change_ her fate, we can change _everyone's_ fate. That's why we came back, right? To change things, to change everything…even our own." The two grasped each other's hands as Pyrrha leaned on his shoulder, a content smile on her face as found comfort in his words.

"Thank you, Jaune…I needed that…"

"…Anytime Pyrrha…anytime…"

the two just stood there, looking out at the street as many visitors and travellers walked the asphalt, completely unaware of what terrible events that were to come crashing down upon them. Living a life of total bliss. But for these two travellers through time.

This was enough for them, this tiny moment to themselves.

* * *

Docks – Two Days Later

* * *

The streetlights flicked on and off as small moths circled around the glowing bulb. The Light from the lampposts partially illuminated the vacant sidewalks and streets as the night was calm and quiet. It was times like this that most could ever imagine that hours ago these streets were filled with bustling citizens and smiling children as they walked the markets and shopped in the stores. But when night falls upon the Kingdom, the streets become quiet and the presence of life is little to none existent.

Yet this didn't bother the day guard as he looked the gate up for the night. He had just finished his last shift at the docks and was scheduled to change over with the night guard in a few minutes.

Normally he would have to stay behind and make sure his replacement got here in time. But he just received word from his supervisor that he needed to vacate the Docks immediately, not to ask questions and that his replacement would be there soon.

He didn't know why he had to do this – and he didn't really care – all that mattered to him was getting home and relaxing in front of the TV.

He then locked up the gate, put the keys in his pocket and began to merrily whistle his way home. Not a care in the world and no idea of what was about to go down.

On the rooftops of the two adjacent buildings were JNPR, RWBY, Penny Polendina and Sun Wukong.

The ten teenagers were split into three groups as they had spent the last two days planning out their stakeout and organising what they would need if it turned out to be the White Fang. Extra ammunition, Med-packs and even emergency flares to alert the authorities if things got too out of hand. Not that anyone was expecting to get into a large fight – except for Jaune and Pyrrha – but they brought them nonetheless.

"Well, that was the last night guard. The docks are completely empty," Jaune said into his scroll as he, Blake, Sun, Yang and Pyrrha sat on the rooftops.

"At least we won't have any civilians getting caught in the crossfire," Blake said as she leaned over the rooftop to look at the docks. "Still, it's been over an hour since they unloaded the cargo. Now it's just sitting there, waiting out in the open…whoever is behind all this should have gone after them by now. They may not even show up?"

"Well we can't be too sure," Ruby spoke from across the other rooftop with Ren, Nora, Weiss and Penny sat on the other rooftop. "The real thieves may be waiting like we are until all the dock hands are gone, best to wait it out a little longer"

"But this waiting is boring!" Nora said as she lay flat on her back while looking up at the sky. "I hate waiting, it's so~ boring!"

"Just be patient Nora, this will be all over soon," Ren said as he sat next to her, a small book in his hand as the girl turned and glared at him.

"In any case," Yang said as she sat down next to Jaune as he continued to look out at the docks with a pair of binoculars, "Whether they show up or not is all we need to know if the White Fang is behind this or not, right? Might as well make the best of it," she said as she fell onto her back and sighed.

Meanwhile, Sun walked back onto the roof – a handle full of apples in his arms – as he sat back down next to the ground.

"At least I get to live out my childhood dream of staking out a potential crime scene – like a real cop!" he said as he bit down on one of the apples. Blake looked at him and the apples, as she sent a disapproving glare to him.

"Do always break the law without a second thought?"

"Hey, weren't you part of a cult?" the joke seemed to do poorly as she and Yang glared at him, while Pyrrha sighed and Jaune slapped his own forehead.

"Oh, sorry, too soon?"

'… _Idiot'_ Jaune thought as he peered through the binoculars looking for anything out of the ordinary.

It was then that his eyes caught a glimmer of light as he narrowed his vision and saw a bullhead flying towards them. "Shit! It's time! Everybody get down!" Jaune hissed into the scroll as they all suddenly dropped to their stomach as the bullhead flew over them and landed on the docks.

The shuttle then opened its rear ramp as a figure emerged from the ship. The sight of what she saw made Blake's heart drop into her stomach.

The symbol of the Red Beast amongst blood red claws... The Symbol of the White Fang.

"Is that them?" Sun asked as she nodded with a heavy heart.

"Yea…that's them"

Jaune looked at the girl as he looked apologetic at the girl. He knew it was hard for her, but it was important for her to see the truth. The truth of what her former organization had become. Terrorist hell-bent on destroying the world in their pursuit of Faunus Supremacy. The funny thing Jaune found about the whole thing, was that in their pursuit of supremacy it would only lead them to die equally amongst humanity...

Irony was a cruel bitch

"Blake…I'm so sorry," Weiss managed to say into her scroll as she shook her head. Even though she was somewhat glad to be proven right about the White Fang, it didn't feel right. Especially after everything she and Blake had been through and hearing the other side of the story.

"It's alright like I said, deep down I knew it was them. I just didn't want to believe it-"

"Hey, what's the holdup?"

Everyone's head shot up as they watched as another figure descended down the ramp. He was wearing a white expensive suit, a bowler hat that contrasted against his red hair and cane at his side. "If you lot haven't noticed, we are not the most conspicuous bunch of thieves, get to work!" Roman Torchwick ordered the other White Fang members as they obeyed his command.

Roman Torchwick, Jaune knew little about him in the previous timeline and like everyone else believed he was behind the Pre-Invasion that would occur a month from now. Originally Jaune had hated the man because he had worked with the one who killed his partner in the future. But after doing some research - and gathering some intel from Junior - he realised that Roman was just a petty thief that was way in over his head.

Joining up with the Dark side because he believed it was the best way to survive, only to have a Griffon swallow him whole.

A Rather embarrassing way for a professional to die if he did say so himself.

"What the hey! Isn't that Roman!? What the heck is he doing with the White Fang!?" Ruby managed to say into her scroll as she and the others watched him order the White Fang soldiers.

"Yeah, I thought the White Fang hated humans? What's he doing with them?" Yang said as she knew enough to know that the White Fang doesn't allow humans to join their organization. But it was Blake's reaction that Jaune was waiting for as the former member glared at the sight.

"This isn't right, the White Fang would never ally themselves with a human. Epically not with a criminal like him!" Blake said as she was about to jump up and demand some answers. But before she could even get up off the ground Jaune grabbed her by the back of her waistcoat and pulled her back onto the ground. Turning to the culprit, she glared at Jaune as she hissed at him.

"Jaune, what the hell are you doing!?"

"No, what the hell are you thinking Blake!? You can't just run in there and start demanding answers! That's Yang's thing!"

"Hey!" an embarrassed voice said on the scroll but they chose to ignore it.

"Listen, I know you want answers and so do the rest of us. That's why we're here. But if you go down their half-cocked without a plan or at the very least an escape route, then things will go south really fast. Its shit like that will get you – or worst – your friends killed, is that what you want?" While his tone was harsh his words spoke the truth as Blake managed to stop her anger and look out at her friends who nodded in response.

She looked down ashamed at her actions as she nodded. "…You're right…I'm sorry, I just want to know the hell is going on here. Why is Roman working with the White Fang? Why are they working with a human after everything they preached about for years? It doesn't make any sense – what is going on here?"

Jaune wanted to tell her the truth, he wanted to tell her about Salem and the White Fang's true purpose in her plan. About Adam and his ultimate goal to control the White Fang and enslave Humanity. But he knew if he did she would do something rash as she had before. Like running away from her team and leaving them to fight the White Fang by herself thinking it was the only way to protect them. The last time she did that there were dire consequences. He was not going to let that happen again.

"…I don't know, but we're going to find out." The moment he said that two more Bullheads appeared as they hovered over the Docks. It was then that Blake was glad that Jaune had stopped her in time – otherwise she would have walked right into a tough situation.

"Okay, so it's not a small operation. This makes things a little more difficult. Ruby, do you copy?" he spoke as she responded to the scroll.

"Yep,"

"I need you and Pyrrha to provide cover fire for us while we head down to capture Roman. If we can get him to talk, we might just find out why he is working with the White Fang," he instructed as he grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"But what about the Bullheads? I doubt they are just going to let us attack their comrades without interfering?" Ren asked as Jaune nodded.

"I figured that the people stealing the Dust would need some kind of transportation. So, I had Nora bring those 'Special Grenades' I made for her two days ago. Did you bring them Nora?" the orange haired girl nodded as she pulled out a Grenade with a Yellow Heart Shaped ThunderBolt on the Tip.

"Good, now those should deal with the Bullheads long enough for Ren and Blake to get up behind them and catch them by surprise. Then Yang, Sun, Penny and I will come charging and take out the others. I'm not going to lie, once we do this shit is going to hit the fan. Is everyone prepared for this?" he got a conformational nod from everyone as he grabbed the handle of his sword.

"Alright, let's do this…"

He gave his weapon a sharp twist of the handle as the edges of the blade sprung out and two handles were deployed. He grabbed them both as he removed the edges of the blade and now held two large Katana like Blades in his hands. One with a Black Handle and one with a Whitish Green Handle.

Retribution Mode V: Shadow's Reach & Retribution Mode VI: Lotus of the Storm

Ruby's eyes instantly widened as she looked over the two-large katana-like blades and what she could only assume were dust infused handles.

"Not now Ruby," Jaune merely said as he jumped off the building along with everyone else.

Ruby only pouted but then focused as she aimed down the sight of her scope with Pyrrha by her side peering through her scope.

Blake and Ren quietly snuck up behind Roman – with his back turned to them – while Jaune, Yang, Penny and Sun quietly got into position around the other White Fang Members and got ready to make their move. Blake looked over to Jaune who nodded and gestured to Nora who grinned and aimed at the aircrafts.

"LET'S LIGHT THIS PARTY!"

Several shots fired from her launcher as the metal canisters sailed into the air and hit the side of the ships with an audible clang – drawing everyone's attention. The device then attached themselves to the ships as the casings blew off to reveal several lighting coloured dust – that quickly glowed bright – and then began to spread sparks of lightning all over the ships.

The sudden surge of electricity caused the ships to begin spiralling out of control as the pilots were quickly trying to land the airships – with only two of them crashing into the docks while the last one crashed into the water.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Roman yelled as he watched his ships fall out of the sky. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!? WHO'S SHOOTING MY GOD DAMN PLANES!?"

"NOW, ENGAGE!" Jaune yelled as he, Yang and Sun came running out of their cover.

Sun shot several shots at the White Fang disorienting them while Yang blasted at them with her rockets that created a large explosion – throwing some of them off their feet. While the rest of the White Fang began to open fire on the two.

Jaune, however, came rushing at them with his swords as the green handle started to glow and travel up the length of his right blade. Encasing the blade in a powerful gust of wind and lighting, he launched the attack at the White Fang that blew and zapped some of them into the containers, while Penny summoned her weapons and began attacking the men.

Some of the White Fang tried to fight back, but soon they had to take cover as several sniper shots narrowly missed them as Ruby and Pyrrha shot at them from the rooftops.

"WHO THE HELL ARE THESE GUY'S!?" Roman tried to yell out, only to suddenly feel a presence rushing up behind him as he managed to block a katana blade from striking his back. "Oh, come on! Who the hell are you!?" he yelled as barley git an answer as Ren slashed at him with StormFlower – to which he managed to avoid by backing away from the teens.

"Roman Torchwick! What are you doing with the White Fang!? Answer me!" Blake ordered as the man raised an eyebrow at them.

"Seriously? You're asking me that, in the middle of a fight?" he asked with a chuckle as he aimed his weapon at them. "When you should be busy avoiding my attacks!" he launched several rockets at the pair as Blake and Ren quickly avoided the rockets.

The rockets destroying the ground around them as they used their speed and agility to run around him. During her run, she removed her bow as she revealed her Faunus nature to all the White Fang present – hoping she could at least talk some sense into them.

"Brothers of the White Fang! Why have you side with this human!?" she asked as the man stopped his attack momentarily as he grinned.

"Didn't you get the memo? The White Fang and I have gotten into a rather _HEATED_ PARTNERSHIP!" his cane fired more rockets as the Faunus girl evaded and faded from his attacks. All the while an angry scowl was present on her face.

Meanwhile, Jaune and the others were dealing with the White Fang as more of them came out of the ships that were disabled. The men shooting at the teens, while they evaded the shots and fired back with their own. Yang grinning like a mad woman as she rushed at the men. Her fists punching and colliding with their faces as she delivered powerful blow after blow to the soldiers.

One was about to take her head when Jaune managed to block it with his swords as the two Katana like blades clashed against White Fang steel.

The black handle glowed in his right blade as the metal was surrounded by a black-purplish aura – and with a slash of the blade – a force of Gravity suddenly took hold of the White Fang member and caused him to float in mid-air. Jaune then kicked the man in the chest and sent him flying through the air, only to be grabbed by a long chain-like sword – as the blade shot out like a segmented whip. The sword wrapped around itself his waist and then slammed him into his comrades, knocking them out cold.

"Whoa, that was cool! Was that gravity Dust?" Yang asked as Jaune nodded.

"It is, the right blade holds Gravity Dust which I can use to make gravity lighter which works well for the whip function. But in the left blade is a little combination of Lighting and water Dust which can…" he held his left blade up as wind rapidly began to form around the blade. Which he then unleashed in a powerful gust of wind and lighting that sent several White Fang Members away.

"Give my enemies a little _shock_ ," he said with a grin as Yang grinned back.

"Got to tell you Hot stuff, you really know how to keep a girl interested, don't ya?" no sooner did she say that did a bullet graze past her and they both felt a particular angry aura coming from the rooftops.

"…Whoops…sorry…my finger slipped"

Ruby and Nora backed away from the glaring visage of Pyrrha as they both agreed that a Maiden in love was a scary thing. Especially when another woman was hitting on her man. It was times like this that Ruby was glad she only saw Jaune as an older brother and Nora only had feelings for Ren.

Still, don't piss off Pyrrha.

Blake slashed and hacked at the professional criminal as the man easily blocked all of her attacks. He had nearly taken her head a couple of times – had it not been for Sun rushing in and saving her at the last minute. But even his assistance was not enough to take out the Orange Haired master thief.

Despite the way he dressed, Jaune had known that Roman Torchwick was no easy matter when it came to combat. From his recounts from Blake in the previous timeline, the only reason he had retreated was that the cops were closing in on them. And the only reason he died was that he was surprise attacked by a Grimm.

Jaune could see…potential.

Roman looked around as he was not liking his odds at the moment. The 'Elite White Fang Members' that he had asked for were getting their butts kicked by a bunch of teenagers, several of his ships were blown out of the sky and he was running low on ammo for his cane. If it was just the two brats he would be fine, but nine of them, he was outnumbered and he could already hear the sound of sirens in the distance.

He was out of time.

"Enough of this, Neo!" the man yelled into his scroll as the image of a small girl with pink and brown hair appeared. "Bring the Bullhead around, this whole operation has been a complete disaster! I knew I shouldn't have relied on animals," he cursed as he just managed to block a strike from Blake.

"You aren't going anywhere!" she yelled as the man smirked.

"Really? And who's going to stop me, Kitten, you?"

"No!" he spun around just as Yang jumped from behind the man.

"We are!" the intense heat combined with the force of her punch sent the man spiralling away as he screamed all the way.

His body smashing into the side of a shipping container as the metal rung out throughout the battlefield. Spilling hundreds of vials of dust onto the docks as the man slumped within the container.

Blake nodded to her partner as she began to walk towards the man. Around her, Jaune and the others were finishing off the rest of the White Fang as they knocked out or captured any of the remaining members. Blake then stood over the man as she and Yang stood beside her. She placed her blade on the man's neck as she glared at him. The thief grunted as he held his side in pain and looked into the lilac and amber eyes that stared at him.

"Whatever _deal_ you have with the White Fang, it ends _now_!" Blake hissed at the man as she pressed the tip of her blade under his neck.

Roman was about to curse when something caught his eye as he smirked. "Oh, I don't think so kiddies, not by a long shot," he smirked as the two-looked confused.

The sound of shattering glass appeared behind them as a swift kick planted itself on the side of their heads as they were sent spiralling away from the man and landed near Jaune, who eyes widened in surprise at who he saw.

' _Neo!? What the hell is she doing here now!?'_ he thought as the Neapolitan shaded girl stood in front of her 'boss' as she smirked at the gathered Huntsman and Huntresses.

Neapolitan or Neo for short was Roman's Bodyguard and an Associate of Cinder Fall. Jaune had known little of the woman before, only that she held a grudge against Ruby in the future when Roman dies. What he did know was her fighting prowess to defeat someone as strong as Yang and her ability to cast illusions that were real enough to trick everyone.

Her abilities were one of the reason that Vale was able to fall so easily, and how Cinder was able to manipulate certain events.

' _But she never appeared during the Docks, why is she here now or was she always waiting for his signal?'_

He wondered briefly if this was another effect of travelling back in time, or if it was something that never got to happen. But in either case, this actually was a good thing as Roman escaping was a part of his plan. Neo them gestured to the pair as her smirk was mockingly directed at Yang. This caused the Yellow huntress to become enraged as she charged at the pair.

"Yang, wait!" Blake yelled too late as Yang sprinted towards the pair and punched them in the face.

Only when she flung her fist at them, they shattered like glass. This brought a moment of confusion as everyone – aside from Jaune and Pyrrha – to stare at the image before the sound of a Bullhead flying away caught their attention.

Roman stood out the ramp of a Bullhead as he waved his hat to them. "Better luck next time kids!" he laughed as Neo piloted the ship away.

But at the last moment, Pyrrha flipped a small switch on her rifle as she aimed the barrel at the ship and pulled the trigger. A silent shot exited the barrel as none were aware of a small metal dart that attached itself to the ship- in a small and well-hidden location. The ship blasted off into the distance as they quickly evaded the authorities.

"Oi! Get back here you cowards!" Yang yelled as she waved her fist at the retreating Bullhead.

"Yeah! You cowards!" Nora yelled as she joined Yang in waving a fist at the pair.

"Give it up, they are long gone by now," Blake said as she sheathed her blade back into its sheath.

"At least we got what we came for – confirmation of who is behind these Dust thefts. But this whole thing with Roman and the White Fang has… _complicated_ things…we need to find out what the hell is going on with the White Fang. And put a stop to it, once and for all" she turned around as she made her way to the police that had gathered at the docks.

Yang and the rest of her team shared a concerned glance as they had a strange feeling about the look in her eyes. A look Jaune was well aware of and knew that the only one that would help her out of it was Yang. They soon followed after her, no doubt needing to inform the police of what had transpired. But ruby noticed something as she looked around the docks.

"Hey, where's Penny?"

Further away in a dark limo, Penny looked sadly out the window as she watched the police quickly descend upon the Docks. "You should have told us where you were, you can't be wandering the city by yourself. Especially if you're going to get yourself involved with situations like this," a man said as Penny nodded solemnly.

"I know sir, I'm sorry. But I just wanted to help my new friends, that's all," she said sadly as the man sighed.

"It's alright Penny, but don't worry. Your time _will_ come…now…" the man leaned forward as he looked at her. "Tell me more about these _friends_ of yours, I'm quite curious to meet them." The limo drove away as Penny began to tell the man all she had gathered on the people she met and the abilities some of them possessed.

While back at the Docks, team RWBY, Nora and Ren were filling in the police about what had transpired and what they had witnessed. while that was happening, Jaune and Pyrrha stayed further back from them as the quietly conversed among themselves.

"Did you plant it?" she nodded as she removed her cartridge from her rifle and revealed similar bullets to the one she shot.

"The tracker is in place, they won't notice it until they do a full check on the ship. But by then we should have their location," Jaune pulled out his scroll as he watched a small dot moving on the map. "So…What do we do now?" Jaune looked at the dot as he gazed at the screen.

"Now…" the dot drew closer to a location as he glared. "Now It's time we sent them a _message_ …one they will _never_ forget," the pair nodded as Jaune closed the tablet.

* * *

 **And Scene. Well, here is Chapter XI of Restart. Sorry for the long wait, I've been working at a new job that starts at 4 am in the morning and I get buggered out as soon as I get home, that it has left me little time to write any fan fictions. So, no I have not abandoned them, I'm just super busy. So once again sorry for the super, super late update. But I assure you I'm not dead just super busy. Anyway, here are the stats on Jaune's Weapons…**

 **Mode V – Shadow's Reach: The left edge of Retribution detaches to form a Katana like Blade. The blade uses gravity manipulating dust to make enemies either lighter or heavier depending on the use. The blade also segments into a whip by holding the blade together with specialised wires similar to Blake's Weapon Gambol Shroud.**

 **Mode VI – Lotus of the Storm: Lotus's Storm encases the blade with wind dust that also contains an electrical charge from Electric Dust. Giving the user the ability to shoot out 'blades of storms' at the enemy. A useful tool for long ranged opponents and damaging electrical equipment.**

 **I also apologise for the lack of Omake in this chapter, but I ran out of ideas. So, if anyone has a suggestion leave it in the comment – after you review the story. Sincerely Masseffect-TxS. But now Jaune's plans are set in motion as he begins to play all the pieces he is carefully putting into place. What will this mean for Cinder and her allies? And what will happen to the fate of Remnant?**

 **Find out next time in Chapter XII: The Message.**


	12. Chapter XII: The Message

RWBY: Restart

When the world was destroyed and all that he had ever known was taken from him. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future...just not the way he expected.

* * *

 **A/N there has been a slight change in Chapter II and I of this story, as I believe Ozpin to be older and highly unlikely to be a student the same time as Jaune's father, Raven, Tai, Summer and Qrow. As well as accommodating to the ending in Volume 5. I don't know if Cinder is dead, I hope she's not, only because I want Jaune to be the one to kill her. So, I went back and edited that portion so feel free to check up on it and read Paths of the Arc by Sixsamchaos.**

 **Also, made a quick change to Jaune's family in Chapter IV. Saved his grandfather but still lost the rest of his family, due to a good idea I got from reading Paths of the Arc by Sixsamchaos. So, yeah, Grandfather is alive just not around as much. Also, see if you can spot a tie into Remnant Knight. Have fun.**

 **Also, now that we found out what Jaune's semblance is – Aura Amplification – I can see the potential that comes with this ability and I'll try to work it into all of my stories. Hopefully, I can come up with some valid possibilities.**

 **Anywho, Enjoy the Chapter.**

* * *

Chapter XII: The Message

* * *

The streets burned red as the fire of the Grimm King stretched itself upon the forgotten ruins of the city. Flames reaching high into the sky as the crimson light bathed the Kingdom in a scarlet blaze of death and destruction. From the flames came the Grimm King, its large Draconic form smashing through building after building as Jaune narrowly avoided his flames and teeth. He fired bullet after bullet from the weapon of his fallen brother as the multiple projectiles bounced off the creature's face.

The Grimm King roared as he blasted the building with flames, only for Jaune to jump out of the window and land on the adjacent roof in front of him.

Sheathing both guns back, he pulled out the replica of his partner's rifle as he took aim and fired at the Kings eyes. But none of it seemed effective as all they did was enrage the King further as it smashed its claws into the roof. Jaune barley managing to jump off in time as he tumbled into the streets. The rifle sliding from him as he lay on the ground, groaning in pain.

His ears ringing and his vision blurred as he lay upon the broken streets. His form reflected in the broken glass of the Dust to Dawn store as he looked at the old man he had become. The many years of fatigue and pain plain to see on his face, as anyone else would have been pushed the point of desertion by now.

But not him. Not after everything he went through to get here. He wasn't about to just lay down and die just _yet_.

He slowly looked back up as the Grimm King lumbered itself upon the broken home as a deep growl rumbled in its throat in what Jaune could only assume was an attempt to frighten him. But Jaune had no fear of the creature before him, or of the fact that soon he would face his end to the beast.

In fact, he _wanted_ Death to finally visit him and take him away from this horrible place.

To reunite him with the ones he lost long ago and the ones he cherished the most. But not yet…not until he took him down with him.

Not until _both_ of them were _dead_.

He reached over and grabbed the rifle as he glared up and aimed at the beast, who glared back through the crosshair of the old rifle. "Come on…" a faint smile on his lips as he cocked back the bolt. "…take your best shot." The Grimm King roared as the streets were once again bathed in fire and the battle to end all battles continued amongst its ruins…

* * *

New Timeline – Beacon Training Fields

* * *

What many didn't know was that aside from the combat arena, Beacon also had a variety of other training fields that they used to teach the next generation of Huntsman and Huntresses how to fight in different terrains. Some fields had training dummies that were no more than logs tied with rope, while others were combat areas filled with sand, rocks and trees to simulate different environments.

It was set up years ago by the former headmaster of Beacon, to ensure that the students had ample room to test their abilities in unfamiliar terrains.

It is here we find the heroes of this tale as Jaune and his friends began to train together as their newly self-formed eight-man team – whose name was debatable at the moment. Using their time and collective knowledge to improve themselves for the future.

"Wha!" a small huntress screamed as she was thrown over a large sand pit and landed face first in the dirt. "…Owie" Ruby moaned as she lay on the ground.

"Come on, Ruby" she looked up as Jaune stood over her. "You could have easily dodged that, I know you could've. Your semblance is speed for crying out loud," he told her as he helped her up.

"I would've, but you guys won't let me use my precious Crescent Rose. I told you guys I'm just not the hand-to-hand type. But with Crescent on the other hand…" she looked over to the tree as Crescent Rose lay under the shade. An alluring aura surrounded the scythe as Ruby blushed and drooled at it.

Jaune rolled his eyes at this. "Yes, while you may be better with a weapon, there are times where you will not have your faithful weapon by your side." That statement broke her out of her trance and she snapped her head at him.

"Blasphemy! I would never go anywhere without my precious weapon by my side!"

Inwardly Jaune wanted to tell her about all the times in the future where she lost her weapon but couldn't bring himself to tell her. Instead, he shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Regardless, it's important that you learn some hand to hand combat." Ruby huffed as she crossed her arms. "I know how skilled you are with a weapon, but it's an essential part of being a Huntsman to be prepared for any situation. That includes having a weapon or otherwise. It's for your own good," he lectured as she turned back and glared.

"But how's hand-to-hand combat supposed to help? Your hands can't stop a blade or a bullet, and there is no way hand-to-hand can beat a weapon in a straight fight. It's like going up against scissors with a piece of paper, it's just impossible." Jaune sighed as he rubbed a hand across his face.

"Might want to give it up, Hot Stuff."

He turned to Yang as she sat under a tree next to Ren as they appeared to be meditating. "I've been trying to get her to learn hand-to-hand for years and she never even once listened to me – her own _sister_. What makes you think you can change her mind?" Ren flicked her with a grass leaf as her eyes flashed red.

"Focus," he merely said as she huffed and went back to meditating. Jaune smirked at this as he looked at her.

It had been a week since the incident at the docks and while Ozpin managed to get them off without too much trouble, though they were not excused from Miss Goodwitch's ire as she had the entire teams under house arrest for staying out past curfew and for meddling with an ongoing investigation.

But now that their week-long ban was lifted the team decided to start their first official training session as the new eight-man team. The main aspect of the training program was to improve on their weaknesses.

Like teaching Ruby not to rely too much on her weapon and teach Yang some patience and learning not to jump the gun in every battle. Something that he hopes would stop her from losing her arm or attacking Mercury during the tournament. Only if he didn't take out Emerald in time.

While Ren would increase his stamina training with Yang's help, much to Nora's annoyance as the orange haired girl had a slight bout of jealousy from the idea of another girl hanging out with her _Renny_. Not that she would admit that out loud. But she understood the reason and allowed it, only subtly glaring at Yang from time to time.

Now she understood why Pyrrha always glared at her. No one should touch her man.

While over to his left Blake was helping Nora learn the importance of waiting for the right moment to strike, as well as testing out the voltage limit of her Semblance. While Nora also helped to increase Blake's usage of her 'Shadow Clones' and how far she could make.

Pyrrha was with Weiss as the two discussed new usages of Dust for their teammates, while also helping to increase Weiss' stamina, as long battles usually tended to tire the girl out

It was part of Jaune's plan to prepare them for the future, as he felt that he needed to make sure they could protect themselves better should the Grimm King try anything else. He was not going to lose them. Not again.

"Is that a challenge?" he asked as she blinked at him before smirking.

"Maybe…" she said coy fully as Pyrrha glared at her while she and Weiss were clashing swords.

"Watch it, Yang, that's my _**boyfriend**_ remember?" she said as Yang glared back.

But even as she glared, her heart inwardly fluttered as she called Jaune her _boyfriend_ for the first time since their date. If she was back in the alternate past, and she and Jaune became a couple, the poor girl would have passed out from pure happiness by now. The only reason she didn't was the looming threat of Cinder, Salem, the White Fang and the Grimm King all poised to strike at any moment…

Although that didn't stop her giggling every once in a while.

"For _**now**_ , at least," Yang remarked as Jaune could have sworn to see lightning shot between the two, while everyone else backed away from the two.

Especially Weiss as she decided to stop her spar with the Gladiator before she got her ire. Jaune sighed as he shook his head at the two and returned his attention to the youngest Huntress.

"All right. If you aren't going to listen to reason, then I guess I need to show you. Ruby, go grab your weapon." He pointed at the girl looked confused. "You feel like you don't need to learn hand to hand, fine, let's see you prove it."

Ruby looked uncertain as she looked at her weapon and Jaune, who only nodded and gestured for her to retrieve her gear. She grabbed the compacted rifle as the gears shifted the gun into its blade form. She looked back to Jaune – hoping he would change his mind. But the boy just seemed to nod as he folded his arms behind his back.

"Are you sure about this, Jaune? I could hurt you?" she asked as the boy merely shrugged.

"Maybe, tell you what. If you manage to get one scratch on me before I disarm you, I will tell you everything about Retribution, and show you _all_ of its _other functions_ ," he smirked as her eyes became stars – literally stars – as she looked over to the large sword beneath the tree.

The large sword beckoning to her as she could only imagine what other secrets the blade held.

"However-" she turned back as he held up a finger.

"If I manage to disarm you, you're banned from using your weapon for all of our training sessions until you learn the basics of Hand-to-Hand combat. Barring the exception of Miss Goodwitch's Combat class and when we start missions. Do we have a deal?" he asked as he smirked at her.

Ruby recoiled in horror at this, as the mere thought of being separated from her weapon was almost too much for her to bare. While she was confident in her own abilities, Jaune had proven multiple times to be far stronger then he appeared. If the previous events of the 'Hybrid of the Emerald Forest' and the 'Horde of the Forever Falls' were enough to go on, and she feared the possibility of being separated from her precious Crescent Rose.

Yet at the same time, she could not hold in the temptation of learning the secrets of the massive sword possessing multiple functions and designs that had driven her crazy for the past month. It was unlike any weapon she had ever seen before, with secrets still locked away to be uncovered. She had to know its secrets…whatever the cost.

She turned around and grinned as she deployed the large scythe. "You're on!" she yelled as Jaune smirked and stood in the middle of the filed. The rest stopping their training as they watched the battle that was about to happen between the two leaders.

Ruby held the grips of Crescent tight as she eyed the boy before her, ready to attack him at a moment's notice. Jaune, to her confusion, closed his eyes as he stood in the centre of the clearing with his arms folded in front of him with no intention of defending himself whatsoever. This confused the young prodigy as she was sure he would have put up some form of defence, wasn't that the point of all this?

But that didn't matter as she desperately wanted to know the secrets of his weapon and she wasn't about to lose just yet.

Activating her semblance, Ruby sped towards the boy as a flurry of rose petals trailed behind her. Her form morphing into a red blur as she zipped and dashed at high speeds towards the older teen. Jaune, however, smirked as the red blur sped around him. His feet firmly planted into the ground and his aura subtly shifting into his limbs as he prepared himself for her attack.

One of the advantages Jaune had from travelling back in time was being able to predict what his opponent would do because he had faced them before long ago.

This was no exception for his friends either.

Jaune had known Ruby for most of his previous life. He had fought by her side through many battles, bleed together against many foes and let her cry on his shoulder more times than he could count. Even crying in hers when his will would waver. He knew everything about her, from her small little quirks that made her personality to the way she fought and wielded her scythe.

He knew what she was going to do and how to counteract it.

Just as he predicted, she appeared out of the blur behind him in a red haze of roses and swung the large scythe at his back. Hoping to catch him by surprise.

But to _her_ surprise he spun around and caught the blade with his own two hands, as he focused his aura into his arms and legs, holding the blade with tremendous strength and ease.

The stunned look on her face was enough to cause him to chuckle before he spun the blade around and threw Ruby away from him. The girl tumbling across the forest floor, only to land at the base of the tree as she impacted with a large thud as she groaned in pain. Only to shriek in fear as he swung the massive scythe and lodged it into the tree above her head, as she looked up at the boy who smiled at her.

"I win," he only said as Ruby stared up in awe before falling to the base of the tree in shock.

The others, aside from Pyrrha, were in awe of the speed and efficiency that the JNPR Leader of the group took down the young prodigy with nothing but his own bare hands. Honestly, they were impressed.

"Woohoo! Way to represent team JNPR, Fearless Leader!" Nora called out as she pumped her fists in the air.

"That was a rather impressive display if a little risky," Weiss observed as she nodded at the team leader.

"But the technique he used to channel aura into his extremities and the reaction time he displayed must have taken years to perfect. The balance and the strength behind it are nothing but commendable," Ren commented as he observed his leader, noting silently that there were some similarities to his own fighting style that was subtly mixed into it. Odd, seeing as he never showed anyone – other than Nora – the proper stance and techniques he used.

Another part of the ever-growing enigma that was his team leader.

"In any other circumstance, I'd be decking the guy who'd beat my little sister like that. But even I got to admit that was pretty badass," Yang said as she smirked at the boy.

"Though I think using her own weapon against her was a bit much, don't you think?" Blake asked as Yang only shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe, but it was pretty cool though" was all she said as Blake only rolled her eyes and went back to looking at the scene unfolding. Jaune holding the large scythe in his hands as he looked down at the kneeling girl, who looked up meekly at the victor of the battle.

"Sorry, Ruby. But looks like I won our fight. Which means that as acting co-leader of Team SPECTRUM -"

"The name's still debatable!" ignoring Nora's outburst.

"I have full authority to confiscate your weapon until further notice. You can have it back as soon as you master the basics of hand-to-hand combat – barring any missions and Goodwitch's combat class. I'm sorry Ruby, but you forced my hand," Jaune spoke with his commander like voice as Ruby looked up in horror.

"No! You can't do this! I've never been apart from Crescent Rose in my entire life! It's my baby, my masterpiece! How can I be a Huntress without it!?" she cried as she fell to her hands and knees. "Please don't take away my baby from me!"

"…It's alright, Ruby"

A deep mescaline voice spoke as Ruby looked up to the large scythe as she stared at the 'face' of the large mechanical weapon. Her mind shifting the environment as sakura petals slowly drifted around the two, as they stood in the middle of a strange pink void. The weapon almost looking sad at the girl as the cherry blossoms swirled around them.

"I've fought by your side for many years since the day I was born and have been proud to fight by your side. But this young man is right, it is time you learned to fight without me. It is a part of your growth as a True Huntress after all…."

The scythe bizarrely gaining a human muscular body with the blade as its head and wore a school uniform with a long coat and hat. While Ruby herself was dressed in some kind of sailor school girl uniform? With tears in her eyes.

"But Crescent! I love you!" she called out as the scythe began to walk away.

"We will meet again, my master… But it is time I go until you are strong enough to fight without me…" it walked away as it brought its hat down over its eye.

"Sayonara…Ruby"

Tears streaked down Ruby's face as she reached out for the weapon. "Crescent-a Rose!" she called as she fell to the floor and cried at of the loss of her weapon and only true love…

While that was all happening in Ruby's mind, Jaune and everyone else could only look in bizarre confusion as the girl wept onto the grass. For the first time since he had come back, Jaune could not find anything that could explain this bizarre scene before him. He knew that Ruby loved her weapon, but he never imagined it was as deep as… _this_?

Not even Yang seemed to be able comprehended it, as she looked stunned and a little disturbed while Weiss was embarrassed and hid her face in her hands. Blake was just as stunned as she stared wide-eyed at the small huntress, while Ren only blushed and looked away…

Nora, on the other hand, seemed interested as she somehow got a bucket of popcorn and watched her like a TV soap-opera.

It was honestly, a little unsettling.

"…Ruby…you've been hanging out with this weapon for too long…I think this is actually good for you?"

Ruby instantly snapped out of her depression as she looked at the stunned faces of her friends. Her face turning a bright shade of red as she rushed away from them in a flurry of roses and landed by the side of a tree. Her hood fully drawn over her head, as she curled herself up in her cloak, too embarrassed to show her face to the world. Jaune sighed as he compacted the large weapon and threw it over to Yang, who caught it with ease.

"Do you mind if I?" he asked as Yang nodded allowing him to talk to the sad girl. He kneeled down beside the red bundle as Ruby hid further into her protective cloak.

"Ruby?" he asked as the girl was unresponsive. "Are you going to come out of hoodie town?" a small shake was his answer as she brought the hood further over her head. He sighed as he sat down next to her.

"Look, I know how important weapons are to you and that's a good thing. But there are going to be times where your weapon isn't always going to be by your side. Trust me, I've had several instances where I had to fight without my weapon." She raised an eyebrow as he waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Long story."

"The point is I'm not trying to be mean. Trust me that is the last thing I want to do to you. But this is the only way you'll learn, cause the last thing I want is to see you get hurt because you didn't know how to defend yourself. You'd make a lot of people sad if you died, like your friend, your family…and me," he smiled as he stared at her.

"Didn't you want to become a huntress to make the world a better place? How are you going to do that if you die?" Ruby was silent in the folds of her hood as she looked at the soft smiling face of Jaune before she huddled up further and moved away from him.

He sighed again as he rubbed a hand over his head. "Alright tell you what, if you come out of there I'll show you an aspect of Retribution I didn't get to use at the docks, deal?" as predict her ear enlarged at this as she nervously looked at the boy and the weapon he hoarded secrets from, while also contemplating the reason why she should learn martial arts.

After being nearly decapitated by her own weapon – not that Jaune would ever truly harm her – she realised how vulnerable she was without her weapon.

Sure, she had her speed, but Jaune had managed to overpower her so quickly that if she was in a real fight she'd be dead. Her uncle always warned her about relying too much on her own weapon and should learn to utilise every aspect of being a Huntsman. But she was young and thought as long as she had her weapon she'd be fine.

It was clear that was not the case, and she needed to improve herself even more. Despite being a prodigy she still had much to learn. Finally, her will was shaken as she removed herself from the cloak and stood before the leader of JNPR.

"Alright…I'll learn hand-to-hand. Not that I'm going to be very good at it," she argued one last time as Jaune shook his head.

"I don't expect you to be good, I just want you to be safe."

He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder like he did so many years ago in the future. Pyrrha smiling as she saw the same touching scene play out like it did when they travelled to Haven. Glad to see that even in this timeline, they were still good friends.

"Anyway ~…" Ruby began as she suddenly disappeared and reappeared beside Retribution as she drooled over the weapon. "What else can this beauty do?!" she asked as everyone slapped a hand over their forehead.

Jaune chuckles as he was glad that she was back to her usual self. "Well, I never got around to using it…" he shifted the gears on Retribution as only one section of Retribution Mode VI detached itself from the multi-blade. "But Mode VI has one little trick I never got to show."

Flicking a small switch on the side of the blade, the handle deployed a trigger mechanism and folded inwards and then in half as two barrels revealed themselves. He pointed it over to a tree as he squeezed the trigger and a hail of electric dust bullets shot out of the weapon. The tree becoming decimated as the submachine gun like weapon ripped into the bark.

The gun/sword went silent as a cylinder canister exited the handle and he reloaded it with a spare, as smoke drifted from the barrel and the tree was riddled with bullets.

* * *

Retribution Mode VI - Version II: Hidden Lotus

* * *

Ruby's eyes were wide – and almost star-shaped again – as she stared at the weapon and the tree it decimated. A thousand questions running through her mind as she marvelled at the sophisticated engineering and design that must have gone into the blade. She had never seen anything like it, a multi-purpose combat sword with several unique designs for any type of combat.

It was a masterpiece.

While Ruby was going _weapons nerd_ over the blade, the others gathered around as they too inspected the gun/blade.

"Jeez, how many weapons do you have in this thing?" Yang asked as she looked at the giant sword. "A sword, a shield, a hammer, twin blades one with a whip and now one with a Gun. It's like you're ready to fight a war or something?"

It wasn't far from the truth. The weapon was designed purely for War, the biggest War this world would ever see. But hopefully, he could prevent it before it can get to that stage…so long as the Grimm King didn't try anything again.

"It's strange though…" he turned to Ren as he eyed the gun/blade. "All your weapon modes appear to be similar to our own weapons. It's almost like you based them off ours?"

Jaune narrowed his eyes at the man he considered his brother as he should have guessed that Ren would start to notice some strange things about him. There were too many incidents where he made it almost clear that he knew more about his friends then he should. Habits that he had developed after living with them for so long and fighting by their side.

Of course, Ren would be the first to notice. Pyrrha was better at hiding it because she was famous and already known as the strongest in their age group due to her upbringing.

Jaune, however, was an unknown that comes from a backwater town and never attended a training academy – only receiving training from his parents. Not to mention his weapon was based on all the weapons of his fallen friends while Pyrrha's was relatively the same.

It was all a little too _coincidental_ for Ren.

Jaune shrugged his shoulders as he placed Hidden Lotus back into Retribution. "My parents thought it would be a good idea to learn every weapon style I could get my hands on. In case there was a time where my usual style was ineffective against certain enemies."

"And your parents just happened to know nearly every single fighting style there is?" Weiss asked, also sceptical of being so skilled with so many weapons. Luckily it was at this point that Jaune was thankful for his father's family history.

"My father does. Back in the day, my family was once the most renown huntsman clan in Sanus. It was expected of them to master every weapon from a young age, as everyone born of the Arc bloodline was expected to be a warrior. We even had a fortress north of Vale called Kaer Arc and was charged with protecting the outer regions of Vale a long time…kind of like Vassals of the Region?" a sad smile crossed his face as he looked to the north.

"But thirty years ago, the fort was overrun by Grimm and left in ruin. My father and my grandfather were the only ones to survive…" Ren's eyes softened as he knew the pain that came from losing your family. Nora too, as they both remembered losing everything to the Nuckelavee.

"I'm sorry," Ren apologised as Jaune shook his head.

"It's alright, it happened long before I was born. My dad doesn't let it bother him anymore and my Grandfather has pretty much learned to put it behind him. So, no harm," he held a hand to his friend as they both shook hands.

"But still, my parents wanted me to be prepared for anything. So, they taught me and my sisters how to use every weapon we can get our hands on. It wasn't easy, but we managed it," he grabbed the handle of retribution as he held the large blade in his hands.

"With that in mind, I wanted to make a weapon that catered to all my styles. The fact that they are similar to your weapons is just purely _coincidental_." Ren wasn't as convinced, but let it go for now.

"So, wait, does that mean you have a weapon similar to mine?" Yang asked as Jaune merely shrugged and placed the sword back against the tree.

"Maybe, can't spoil the secret just yet. But let's just say it'll really _burn_ anyone that gets in my way." He joked as he got a small chuckle from Pyrrha. Yang smirked at the pun, while Ruby was too entranced with the possible secrets of the blade.

"Aside from Jaune's weapon, I think it's time we talk about what happened at the Docks." Blake drew everyone's attention as the mention of the docks had reminded her of the troubling discovery they made a week ago. "About why the White Fang is working with someone like Roman Torchwick, and why are they stealing all that dust?"

"It was odd, I thought the White Fang hated humans? What was one doing with them?" Weiss asked as she knew from personal experience how much the White Fang hated humanity. If the many dead friends and family of her company were enough to go on.

"I don't know. Maybe they hired him to help steal the Dust?" Ruby suggested as Blake shook her head.

"But if that was the case, then what does Roman get out of it? He doesn't seem like a man to just throw his hat into something that doesn't involve him, especially the White Fang." Blake asked as she was still shaken by this discovery.

"Or maybe he's using the White Fang?" Nora suggested as she received a blank look from Blake.

"I doubt the White Fang would be _stupid_ enough to let themselves be _used_ by someone like Roman," she argued as Nora huffed in disappointment.

Jaune _really_ wanted to tell her that was _nearly_ the case. Except the White Fang was being employed by Cinder to do her masters bidding and help spread chaos across the four corners of Remnant. It was only thanks to the New Faunus Movement that the White Fang slowly began to lose members. But the damage they caused was deep and everlasting, epically how it led to the end of the world.

Yeah, they were that stupid…especially Adam, that bull-headed idiot

"But it still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang is up to something, something big and we have to stop it," Blake said as she was tired of her past coming back to haunt her. "But I don't want to get you all dragged into this mess from my past. The White Fang is my problem, and I'll deal with them-"

"Yeah, no."

They all turned to Jaune as he had his arms crossed over his chest. "Excuse me?" she asked, as she was slightly confused at the childish response from the leader of Team JNPR.

"I said no, you are not going to face off against the entire White Fang by yourself. That is just a recipe for suicide and disaster. We all agreed that we didn't care about your past or your former relations with the White Fang. We are helping you solve this, whether you like it or not." He emphasised with a stern voice as she was briefly reminded of her father whenever he dealt with politics.

Yang and Ruby felt the same way too, only their dad wasn't a politician and it was when they did something naughty. "What he said," Yang remarked.

Blake sighed as she could see that they wouldn't back down.

"All right…but that still leaves the problem with the White Fang. We need to find out what they're doing with Roman and what they're planning. Ozpin says 's they can handle it, but they don't know the White Fang like I do. They don't know what they're truly capable of."

Jaune had to agree with her on that one. Despite how Old Ozpin really was, and how long he had been on this earth, the man was still naïve to think that he knew how the enemy would react. He still thought he could stop the war that was coming. But the enemy, like time, is always changing. Salem had evolved to use different tactics to win, while Ozpin remained firm in his outdated plans.

Guard the relics, protect the maidens, find allies, create spies and hold up in the fortresses that he helped build centuries ago.

But that just wasn't cutting it anymore.

He hadn't even realised that one of his allies had turned against him if Lionheart's betrayal was proof enough of that. The man just couldn't stand the knowledge and the pressure that come with fighting in this war against Salem for so long, that he chose to ally with her just to get out of it. The Maidens were being targeted, the fortress that held back the darkness was being surrounded and his army was being infiltrated.

The man was losing this war, and he hadn't even realised it yet…But that wasn't the worst of it.

Now there was a new piece on the board – The Grimm King – Whose side Jaune still couldn't determine if the recent events have shown that he hadn't joined up with Salem.

Because if he had, then the Docks would have been much more different. But instead, it was still the same with Roman and the White Fang– minus Neo's intervention. But why? Why hasn't he gone to Salem and told her everything about the future? What was he planning and when will the next attack be?

These were things that Jaune desperately needed answers to. But for now, he needed to get his friends stronger and prepare them for the future.

"Well then, looks like we'll need to do something about it?" Jaune suggested as folded his arms. "If Ozpin and the others don't know how they work - and we do - then it's up to us to stop them." He felt like he was leading his troops again. Making decisions that would affect the rest of the world.

Some things never change he supposed.

Weiss raised her hand. "Can I be the voice of reason here for a moment? May I remind everyone that we are still _students_. I know that this thing with the White Fang is _big_ , I don't doubt that. But despite how strong we are, I don't think we can take on an entire organisation by ourselves. I don't think any of us are ready for something like that?" Yang huffed as she folded her arms.

"We handled ourselves pretty well at the docks, I'm sure we can handle it." She sounded so sure of herself, that Jaune saw another reason she lost her arm in the next few months. Overconfidence was dangerous.

"That was different. We didn't know what we were walking into in that fight. And while I'm sure blowing up nightclubs," Yang looked away and started whistling nonchalantly.

"Stopping robberies," Ruby joined in too as she started whistling nonchalantly.

"Or facing unknown monsters are indications of our strength." Jaune and Pyrrha shared a glance as the Heiress voiced her opinion.

"The fact doesn't change that we are not ready for this kind of thing. We have no idea what will happen if we start pissing off the White Fang?" she sighed as she hung her head.

"But we can't just sit here and do nothing! Our enemy isn't going to wait around for graduation day when we're fully trained. They are out there somewhere plotting their next move, and none of us knows what it is! But whatever it is its coming! Whether we're ready or not!" Blake told them as Weiss sighed,

"I'm not disagreeing with you Blake, trust me I'm not. But All I know is that when we start to dive deeper into stuff like this, people tend to get hurt…maybe even killed…and that's not something I want to face again. I've lost enough friends to them…and I don't want to lose you guys too,"

A beat of silence drifted between them as each and every one of them processed what she said, while Jaune and Pyrrha understood her reasoning, but felt guilty knowing that they would all be dragged into it anyway. It was unavoidable in in the end.

"She does have a point," they turned to Ren as he held his arms behind his back.

"It's naïve of us to think that we can take on the whole White Fang by ourselves and not suffer the consequences. But like Blake said we also can't just sit by and do nothing. They won't wait for us, and neither will we. If we do this, we need to be _careful_ , not _careless_."

Jaune nodded as he saw an older version of his brother and felt a twinge of nostalgia and regret as he replayed the moment he died years ago.

"Ren's right, we need to be careful and gather more information. Find out why the White Fang has suddenly decided to ally themselves with Roman and if it's only the ones here or everywhere." They nodded at this as they all looked to Blake.

"Don't worry Blake, we'll get to the bottom of this. We promise," Yang said as the cat girl merely stared at the gathered seven and felt her heart stir at these people. She had never felt like this before in the White Fang. Only when she was with her parents, and that was a long time ago.

"Thank you…" she said as they all smiled and nodded.

"So! All those in favour to be the first team of first years to take down an evil Organization that's plotting to take down the Kingdom of Vale, say aye!" Ruby proclaimed as she pumped her fist.

"Heck yeah! I love it when you're feisty!" Yang pumps her fist as she grins at the prospect.

"Count me in!" Nora mimicking Yang as both powerhouse's linked arms and flex muscle.

"Me too," Ren was calmer while Weiss nodded.

"I guess it could be fun, and maybe this will help stop some of the attacks on my grandfather's company," she reasoned as Jaune nodded as well.

"Pyrrha and I are in, we're a package deal after all." he placed an arm around her shoulder, causing her to blush at the intimacy of their new relationship that was still new to her. But she still nodded as they were both willing to do whatever it took to prevent the war that was to come.

"…None of you said aye," Ruby sulked as she slacked her shoulders while Jaune patted her on the back.

"Alright then, let's find out what the White Fang is up to and stop them before they do it," Blake said as everyone nodded. "Though I still want to know what happened to all that Dust they stole last week, where do you think they made off with it?" she asked wondering where they could store that much Dust.

"I don't know, but where ever it is. They need a large place to store it," Weiss said as she knew from personal experience working with her company that Dust needs to be stored in a safe location.

"Who knows, for all we know they could have taken it far away by now," Yang said as she lazily placed her arms behind her head.

However, unknown to the group Jaune and Pyrrha shared a subtle glance to each other as they nodded. They knew where all the Dust was headed, and they knew where it was currently located. They also knew that it was the most likely place that the White Fang would be held up and where _she_ would be.

Now it was time to send them a message… one she would never forget.

* * *

Later that Night – Abandoned Warehouse outside of City Limits

* * *

Roman oversaw all the White Fang member moving around as they organised and shipped the crates of Dust he and his men had spent the last few months collecting throughout the entire Kingdom. This was the largest take he had ever made in his entire criminal career. A true highlight of all his criminal accomplishments…

But still, his mind wandered back to a week ago when those bunch of children stopped him from stealing the entire shipment of Dust from Atlas.

There was no way that many of them could have found out about him stealing the dust. Even if they just stumbled upon him, there shouldn't have been that many. Not if they were students of Beacon from the way they fought and their equipment.

Which was another thing that bugged him? They had equipment specifically designed to take down his Bullheads. It was almost like they were waiting for him to arrive.

But why? Other than the cat girl, the others must not have a good enough reason to find him. So why? What was going on and did Cinder know?

His thoughts were interrupted as the warehouse doors opened and two individuals walked in. Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai – two of Cinders most loyal lackeys. Cinder claimed they were the best and essential in taking down the Kingdom of Vale – but he honestly thought they were spoiled brats, nothing more.

"Oh, look! She sent the kids again! This is turning out just like the divorce!" Roman approaches the two from behind and wraps his arms around them in a group hug. Emerald shivered in disgust as she pushed the man away.

"Spare us the thought of you procreating."

"That was a joke. And this..." he pulled out a piece of paper. "Just might tell me where you two have been all day." Emeralds eyes widened as she reached into her pocket.

"What!? Agh!" Roman smirked at the little thief's face as he held the paper between his fingers.

"I'm a professional, sweetheart. Pay attention, maybe you'll learn something…" he looked at the paper as he glared. "Why do you have this address?" he asked as Emerald only smirked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yeah, I would. Now, where have you been all day?"

"Cleaning up your problems. One of them, at least."

"I had that under _control_ " he stressed to the two as the moved around the place with a stride of confidence. It was almost like they owned the place, and that just annoyed Roman more.

"Two packed bags and a ticket out of Vale said otherwise". Mercury smirked as Roman glared.

"Listen, you little _punk_. If it were up to me, then I would take you and your little street rat friend here and-!"

"Do what, Roman?" From above the walkway, Cinder appears on a platform above them as she brushes a hand on the railing. She steps onto an automated lift, riding it down to their level.

"I'd, uh... not kill them?"

"Cinder!" Emerald exclaimed as she ran to the woman, only for her to ignore the girl and walk towards Roman.

"I thought I made it clear that _you_ would eliminate the would-be runaway."

"I was going to..." Roman started before Emerald spoke to him.

"He was going to escape to Vacuo! Mercury and I decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat." She spoke proudly as if she was proud of the fact they just killed someone.

"I think he was some sort of cat, actually."

"What? Like a puma?"

"Yeah, there ya go."

"Quiet." She commanded as the two stiffened at her tone. "Did I not _specifically_ instruct you two to keep your hand's _clean_ while in Vale?" Cinder speaks, as Roman points a finger at the pair while laughing in agreement.

"I just thought..." Emerald started while Roman uses his fingers to mime having a slit throat.

"Don't think... _obey_." She commanded as Emerald shrink slightly at the older woman.

"…Yes, ma'am. It won't happen again." Cinder nodded as she turned back to Roman.

"And you. Why wasn't this job done sooner?" Roman points to his right, then to his left, then behind him.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I've been busy stealing every speck of Dust in the Kingdom!" he gestured to all the Dust in the warehouse. "You know it not exactly easy, you know? it takes a certain... _finesse_ , to pull off stuff like this."

Unknown to those inside, outside the warehouse two robed figures stare at the building before dashing and jumping up onto the rooftops. Their feet light and swift as they ran up to an opening in the roof. They quickly opened the glass as they jumped inside, careful not to alert any of the Faunus with sensitive hearing.

"You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski mask." Emerald laughs at the remark.

The two figures that appeared through the roof stealthily moved across the walkway, as they quickly and efficiently knocked out any of the White Fang in their path before they both nodded and split up. One going to the rafters, while the other headed for the breakers.

"Look around, kid. I've got this town running scared! Police camping out at every corner, Dust prices through the roof, and we're sitting pretty in an old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials, and rounds than we know what to do with!" unbeknown to them the shadow of one of the intruders jumped along the rafters as the shadow moved stealthily above them.

"Speaking of which, if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother!" He emphasizes the last word by clenching his fist.

Meanwhile, the second intruder made its way to the breaker as she efficiently knocked out two more of the White Fang and placing their bodies carefully on the floor. The figure pulled out several circular objects from her cloak as they glowed with a dark grey matter and floated in mid-air before splitting up and hovered towards certain sections of the building.

"Oh, Roman. Have a little _faith_." She places her hand on his face never noticing the small circular devices hovering to the shipping crates from the robberies. "You'll know what you need when you need to know it." Two red eyes glare from atop as Roman seems entranced by the woman but then looks away with a grunt.

"Besides, we're done with Dust." She begins to walk away as one of the figures draws a black pistol.

"O-okay, then what now?" the second figure opens the circuit breaker as she grabs the handle of the main power feed.

"We're moving. Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight." The figure on the rafter's breaths a calming breath as he stands upon the rafters, gripping a long black sword in his other hand as he prepared himself.

"Coordinates?" she looked back as she smirked.

"We're proceeding to phase two."

And with those words, the second figure pulled the lever as the lights went off and the occupants of the warehouse went full alert. But before any of them could figure out what happened, the figure on the rafters jumped as the cloak fluttered away from him revealing in the darkness a man in body armour.

Several gunshots sounded and lights flashed with each shot as the figure shot at the White fang members. Who returned fire, as small bursts from their guns briefly illuminated them.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Roman yelled as he desperately dodged the bullets flying in the air. Cinder managed to bring up a flame in her palm as she attempted to find the intruder, as the figure used the shadows and the darkness to his advantage, while those like Cinder and the humans stumbled in the dark.

Emerald and Mercury were faring no better as they could barely see or hear amongst the chaos. A stray bullet nicked the side of Emeralds head as she screamed and hid behind a container.

"Cease fire! That's an order!" she yelled as she tried to get them to stop. But they barely heard her over the gunshots

"You idiot! We have night vision! We can see in the Dark!" one of the members yelled as he shot at the figure.

 **"…I know…I'm counting on it,"**

The second figure from the darkness pulled out three-cylinder objects as she threw them into the warehouse.

Bright flashes of light exploded as every member of the White Fang and Cinder's possie where blinded and deafened by the noise. The White Fang Members, especially as their sensitive sight and hearing, were overloaded by the bright light and deafening sound as some even dropped their weapons and held their sensory organs in pain.

The figure took no hesitation as he ran towards them, his longsword drawn as he quickly attacked the closest member. He slashed, bashed and decimated the White Fang members while those of human origin struggled to see in the darkness. The soft light of Cinders flames continued to search the warehouse as the sounds of fighting still resonated in the darkness.

Finally, after regaining her vision and hearing had enough as she forced the flame outwards and briefly illuminated the warehouse, only managing to catch a glimpse of a skull-faced helmet as red eyes glare back until fading back into darkness.

The warehouse lights came back on as those remaining could only stare in shock as all the White Fang members were knocked out and lying unconscious as they were spread out across the floor or hanging from the rafters with cables wrapped around their feet.

And in the middle of it all, stood one man with a black sword in one hand and a Pistol in the other.

He was wearing a white bullet armour over his chest, with dark grey pants, combat boots and a short-sleeved black shirt. One his arms were two white gauntlets with black sleeves going up and stopping at his bicep, revealing a small section of skin between the short-sleeved shirt and the sleeve of the gauntlet. Around his waist was a black utility built with grenades, pouches and a combat knife.

On his face, however, was what really drew their attention as his entire face was protected by a helmet that looked like an angular knight's helmet with the lower half a skull's jaw and glowing red eyes.

The glow sent a small chill down Cinders spine as she could have sworn to see the pure rage in the reflective lenses. But she cast of her doubt as she summoned the power of the maiden she had into her palm. A small flame burning in her palm as the man glared at her. Emerald and Mercury standing beside her as they too armed themselves against the man. Roman looked nervous as he stepped back towards the exit.

"Okay~…looks like you guys have some issues to work out, so I'm just going to-!" he was stopped as a Kopis sword impaled the floor beside him as Nemesis stood atop of the shipping crate. Glaring down at the man with her own helmets blue eyes as she glared at the man.

"…Or I can wait"

Cinder glared at Roman before she turned back and glared at the man and woman. "Who are you? You have a lot of nerve attacking me like this." The man remained silent as she glared at him. "Attacking my men, breaking into my warehouse. You must have a death wish or something?" the man remained silent.

"Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?"

Above them, Pyrrha looked at the woman as the last moments of her death flashed before her. The overconfident smile on her face as she plunged an arrow into her chest still haunted her to this day as she looked at the woman that cut her life so short. She should be afraid, scared to death of seeing the woman that so easily killed her in her previous life. But instead, she was mostly filled with anger at the woman that destroyed her life and separated her from the one she loved.

But right now, she was more worried about Jaune as she looked upon his form whose aura was subtly quivering with a similar rage.

While on the exterior Jaune was calm and silent, inside was another story as every fibre of his being was screaming at him. But not out of fear, but out of rage and anger. He knew he would see her again eventually, it was inevitable a part of the continuity of the world. But the last time he had seen her, she was a shadow of her former self – a person dulled by regret and time – and getting very acquainted with a bullet in the head.

The one he met was not the one he wanted his revenge on. Not some shamble of the one who took everything from him.

But this one…this woman before him had the exact same fire in her eyes that sparked his rage years ago. This was the one he _wanted_ _to kill_. This was the one he _wanted to suffer_ his wrath and anger. This was the one he wanted to _pay_ for _everything_ she had done to him.

 _This_ …was the Cinder he wanted to _destroy.._.and that worried Pyrrha.

She had seen how far he had gone to get his revenge on her. Seen how he had flown into a rage back at Haven so many years ago that she feared what would happen now. Sure, he was more experienced and stronger then he was the last time they met. But rage was a dangerous thing, and it often blinded people and made them into something…

Worse

His teeth ground together as he gripped the handle of his weapon. **"…Cin…der"** his voice comes out low and strained as she raised an eyebrow at the who looked back up as his eyes flashed red. The lower half of his jaw unhinged as the jaws opened up and he roared with a righteous fury.

 **"CINDER!"**

Waves upon waves of killing intent rolled from his body as the air became cold and lifeless. Emerald and Mercury instantly recoiled in terror of the intense pressure that slammed into them. Mercury had brief flashes back to when his father would abuse him as the man towered like his father after too many drinks. While Emerald felt herself growing smaller at the towering figure.

While Roman nearly pissed himself as he was face to face with the visage of death itself as red eyes were burned into his memory…

But Cinder…she was bearing the full brunt of his rage as her form was frozen in fear. She couldn't understand what was happening to her as she stared at the man before her. The only time she had ever felt this level of fear was in the presence of her master if she had failed her. But this was on a whole different level and for a brief moment…

She was _afraid_.

Jaune catapulted towards her as the black blade whistled through the air, determined to cut her head from her body. But Mercury managed to snap out of it first and got in front of her, blocking the blade with his leg. The metal in his leg bent slightly as his eyes widened at the strength behind the blow. The masked Jaune growled as he applied more aura to his arm and blasted the boy away as he slammed into the metal container, nearly knocking it over from the force.

"Mercury!" Emerald shrieked out before flinching in fright as the skull-faced man suddenly appeared before her, blade in mid-swing as he was determined to cut out her eyes. But Cinder summoned two blades of glass from her clothes as met the man with locked blades.

The two glared at each other as small bits of metal and glass sparked off the blades.

Emerald took the opportunity to race behind to strike the man, only to be kicked in the face as Pyrrha – in her nemesis disguise – intercepted her attack and got to work on fighting the little trickster.

The Champion and the thief briefly exchanged blows, as the Kukri Knives clashed against the Kopis blades with sparks. Emerald tried to shoot at her, but Pyrrha's natural agility and speed easily trumped the other girls. And she didn't even need to use her semblance to alter the trajectory.

Meanwhile, Jaune – Rudianos disguised – and Cinder was engaged in a battle of speed and skill as glass blade clashed with steel.

The embers of her maiden's powers coursing through her as she tore up the ground at her feet and fired them at her attacker. But the man merely shot each and every one of them as the large calibre of the black pistol destroyed the shards to pieces. Cinder growled in annoyance as she summoned her bow and arrows and fired them, only for the masked man to avoid or cut her attacks in half.

Cinder growled in annoyance as the man bested nearly all of her attacks. Despite only having a fraction of the Maiden's power she should have been enough to deal with this intruder. But no matter what she threw at him, he bested them. It was almost like he knew exactly how she fought and knew how to counter them. And for some reason, she felt like he was going easy on her.

Who was he, and why was there this intense rage in his shaded eyes?

She noticed Mercury as he groaned while getting back up. She signalled him to attack from behind, as he nodded and lunged towards the man who sent him flying. Jaune however, already sensed him turned back around and flipped his sword into a reverse grip. His semblance channelled into his blade as he amplified the aura coating the blade and made it sharper. Then with one slash, he penetrated the boy's aura and slashed his legs from his body.

Mercury stared in absolute shock as he only had seconds to register what happened before a fist was slammed into his face and he impacted into the floor. A large crater-forming as he was rendered unconscious.

Emerald turned back as she saw the boy lying unconscious on the ground, his eyes rolled into the back of his head as a large bruise formed on his cheek.

She growled as she turned back to her opponent and cast an illusion and rushed back to assist him. But instead of tricking her opponent, a hand grasped her forearm as she stared in shock at the woman glaring at her.

 **"** _ **Nice try, but not this time"**_

A brief look of confusion crossed her face before Pyrrha slammed her fist under her chin and knocked the girl into the air. She then grabbed Emerald weapon and wrapped the chain around the thief and slammed her into the wall.

Emerald's own eyes rolled back into her head before a Kopis blade pinned the chain and suspended her off the ground.

"Emerald!" Cinder yelled as she finally had enough and decided to end this fight once and for all. Her right eye flared with the maiden's power as she summoned all that she had and launched a stream of fire towards the man. Jaune, however, didn't move as the flame came towards him.

The entire doors of the warehouse exploded outwards as the intense flames melted the door to slag and blanketed the air with smoke and flames. The man no longer in sight as the large flames covered everything in front of her as she took a moment to savour her victory and quickly made plans to deal with the other intruder…

That victory soon turned to dread as a footstep resonated amongst the wreckage of the Warehouse doors.

Emerging from the flames was Jaune, his aura coating him like a suit of armour as his Semblance – Aura Amplification – amplified his aura defence and protected him from the blaze. The flames doing nothing to him as he walked through the fire. His masks red eyes seemingly glowing as he slowly walked through towards her, looking like the true _God of War._

Cinder was frozen in fear as the man approached her.

She tried to move, to run away and report what had happened to his mistress. But her body just refused to move properly as she fell on her ass as the man stood over her. His form overshadowing her own as he glared down at her. She quickly attempted to summon more of the Maiden's power, only to be slapped across the face as she fell to the floor. Blood dripping from her lips as the entire right side of her face stung with pain.

As she began to stand up, Pyrrha quickly placed something on her wrists as she felt her aura being cut off.

The device was a set of Aura Nullifying cuffs that Huntsman and Military used to contain dangerous individuals with Aura. Pyrrha forced her to her knees as she made her kneel before them. Something that she found strangely satisfying as she stood over the kneeling murder.

Jaune narrowed his eyes as he looked at the scared woman before him. He knew that she only had a fraction of the Maiden's power and was nowhere near the same level of power she would have in the coming months.

But this…this was just pathetic.

She spat out some blood from her lips as she glared up at him. "W-Who the hell are you? Are you one of Ozpin's spies or did he finally have the gall to hire assassins to kill me? Does he seriously think that he can stop what's coming by sending a couple of - Gah!" she screamed as he grabbed a hand full of her hair and forced her to look up in fear of the man before her.

 **" _Listen_ and _listen_ _closely_. I do not work for that **_**man**_ **. I will** _ **never**_ **work for that _man_ _again_! If you even mention his name, I _will_ _kill_ _you_ …and besides, he didn't send us. We represent ourselves, not him. And we're not here to kill you, only to deliver a message from everyone in the Entire World…"** he leaned in close as he glared at her.

 **"Leave Vale,** _ **tonight**_ **. Keep whatever power you have and run for the rest of your life. Because If you aren't gone by the Vytal Festival…"** he pulled from his back pouch his regular revolver as he placed the handgun to her head as she flinched at the cold steel. **"The** _ **next**_ **time you see this gun, there will be a bullet in the pretty little head of yours."** He threatened as he removed the gun from her head as she glared up at him.

"…Do you- Do you really think you've scared me off with this little display of power? Because I can promise you that this will not stop what's coming, no matter _who_ you work for. Because the one I answer to is far more terrifying then you can possibly imagine…" she chuckled as she glared them both.

"So, go ahead, scare us all you want! Vale will fall, and you will be dead at her feet! Because I can promise you that is your _Fate_ , that it is your _Destiny_!"

Jaune glared as he went to grab his sword before Pyrrha signalled him to stop. She then looked down as she grabbed her by her hair and forced her to look at her.

 **"Let me tell you a little something about** _ **Destiny and Fate**_ **…"** she pulled back his fist and punched her in the face. **"Destiny is a** _ **lie…**_ **"** she punched again as Cinder gasped in pain. **"** _ **Fate**_ **is a word made up by those who either think themselves _better_ than everyone…"** another punch resonated as she screamed in pain. **"Or those who _hate_ their own _existence_ …"** a tooth flew out of her mouth as Cinder cried out in pain.

 **"And those who worship them, praise them as the one true rules of this world…needs to get their heads straight,"** she picked her up by her dress and slammed her helmeted head against her own. Cinder screamed as her nose was bent and broken.

 **"Because I know the _truth_ of this world. **_**Destiny**_ **doesn't exist, and** _ **Fate**_ **is something we** _ **choose,**_ **not** _ **chosen**_ **by others…"** she dropped the woman to the floor as she reared back her fist.

 **"And I refuse!"** another fist hit the woman with tears and blood mixed together.

 **"To let _anyone_!"** her pleas fell on deaf ears as Pyrrha unleashed her rage on this woman.

 **"Tell _me_!"** she continued to punch as her vision was clouded in red.

 **"WHAT _MY_ _DESTINY_ IS! EVER _AGAIN_!"** she made to go for the final strike that would end her once and for all. But was stopped as Jaune held her arm. He shook his head as he gestured to the bleeding and crying woman on the floor.

 **"Not like this. Not here…Stick to the plan"**

She looked at him and the woman as she nodded, ashamed that she let her anger get the best of her. Funny, she was worried about him doing something like this. But clearly, even she was capable of such rage. He then gestured as they began to leave the warehouse.

 **"Remember, leave Vale tonight. And if you aren't gone by the time of the Vytal Festival…then we're finishing what we started."** He called out as he pressed a button on his gauntlet and the shackle detached itself from her wrists.

She groaned and gasped in pain as she glared up at the pair as they walked towards the door. A look of rage and fury brushed across her face as she attempted to stand back up and attack them, to pay them back for the humiliation that she felt.

 **"Oh, one last thing…"** she stopped as he looked back and pulled out a detonator. **"...Tell** _ **Salem**_ **we said hello,"** her eyes widened as he pressed the button as several red lights flashed on the containers.

A loud beeping accompanied the lights as he dropped the device to the floor and calmly walked out of the building. She looked back in stunned silence as the beeping sound of the detonator and waking people slowly faded around her as she stared at the two who just defeated her with such ease.

She could barely even register Roman – who had cowered in fear – telling her to move as the large crates Dust were rigged to explode. Members of the White Fang too realised as they gathered up they're fallen and attempted to flee the warehouse, while they grabbed Emerald and Mercury. But none of that mattered as all she could think of was this…

What the hell just happened?

* * *

A large explosion reverberated out as the night was bathed in a multi-colour display of elements and destruction as months worth's of Dust were destroyed in an instant. Jaune and Pyrrha watching from a distance as the light bathed the night sky and the sound of sirens drifted in from the city. They knew that Cinder had escaped in time, as killing her now was not part of the plan and they gave them plenty of time to escape.

Not to mention they could still sense her presence this close to her.

Now, many would be wondering right now of why they didn't just kill her here and now. Why let her live if they knew she was just going to come back again and maybe with reinforcements?

Well, that was the plan.

They need to expose her first, show her to the world the truth of the War that silently waged behind veiled curtains. They wanted her to call in reinforcement. They wanted her to send another. They needed to thin out the herd and throw Salem off her game. Destroying the Dust was one of them, though they probably already moved enough of it to Mount Glenn by now and attacking the White Fang would more than likely stir Adam and make him react irrationally.

But attacking Cinder was their true goal, by showing her early on that the power of the Maiden's was _nothing_ to them, and that she was no more different than anyone else on the planet. That she can – and will – die.

The nodded as they drew their hoods over their head and walked away from the blazing fire that stretched into the sky. Signalling the fires of war had been ignited, and that they had struck the first blow. And this that this War will end, on their terms.

…No one else's…

* * *

Omake: Interrogation of a New Relation _Inspired by Engineer1869_

* * *

A bright light flashed into their eyes as Pyrrha and Jaune found themselves in a dark room sitting in front of a metal table with only one light from a desk lamp. "Alright now…" a familiar voice spoke as Yang and Nora stepped into the light. "Let's get this over with-!" she was cut off as Nora suddenly slammed her hands on the table.

"How long have you two been going out?!" Nora demanded as she looked them in the eyes.

"Nora, what the hell?! I was asking them first! And - why do you have a moustache?" Nora looked back as she fiddled with the fake moustache.

"it's an essential part of my cop persona. I like to think it makes me look…edgy." From behind a one-way mirror, Ren slapped his own forehead. "Plus, they're my teammates, I deserve to ask them first. Especially since they're my OTP couple!"

"Yeah, but I'm the one asking the questions here. You need to wait your turn!" Jaune and Pyrrha looked confused as they sat in the interrogation room at Beacon. Something that they didn't even know they had – Seriously when was this installed?

* * *

"Why are ere watching this Ozpin?" Glynda asked as she and the headmaster watched from the monitors.

'When you are as Old as I am, Miss Goodwitch. You find your entertainment whenever it appears." He merely said as he sipped his coffee, secretly hoping to find out more about the mysterious couple.

* * *

It was about three days after the Forever Falls and since Jaune had asked Pyrrha out to the docks. The sudden request from the boy had shocked many of their friends as it was a sudden curve ball thrown at them. Considering that at this time they were not aware that Pyrrha had strong feelings for him or that Jaune reciprocated them. Sure, there was the occasional playful banter between them, which is why Nora shipped them because she believed there was subtle sexual tension between them.

But they never imaged it would blow into a relationship. Something that both Yang and Ozpin was determined to get to the bottom of.

"In any case, what she said. How long have you two been going out?" Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other as they shrugged.

"I guess about…three months now? But what does our relationship have to do with any of…this?" Pyrrha asked gesturing to the interrogation room.

"Because! When two of my best friends suddenly start dating out of thin air, I feel left out of the loop! And as the Gossip Queen of Beacon, I have a right to know the truth!" Yang proclaimed as she stood proudly on her chair. A small light turned on as Blake, Weiss, Ren and Ruby stared blankly at the other side of the glass.

"Isn't this just because you're jealous Pyrrha beat you to the punch?" Blake asked as Yang snapped to her partner.

"Denied! Now start talking! How did you two get together and tell the truth!"

Jaune looked at Pyrrha and then to Yang as he smiled. "Well, I guess it was when she offered to train with me." He looked back as he stared into her eyes. "She wanted to help me become a better Huntsman and offered to share her knowledge and experience with me. She sacrificed her time, and her energy just to make I-we were on the same page." He smiled as he placed a hand over hers.

"After that, I guess I just couldn't imagine my life without her…she completes me."

Pyrrha smiled as she gripped his hand with hers. "Well, as for me he treated me like a normal person. Something I've wanted since I won my second win in the Mistral Championships. Everyone I've met has always placed me on a pedestal thinking I'm too good to be friends with." Weiss looked away embarrassed as she knew who she was refereeing to.

"But Jaune, he treated me like how I wanted to be…" she smiled as Emerald gazed into Dark Sapphire. "A _person_ and I just fell in love with him right there and then. And I never want to lose that."

Ruby and Nora had tears streaming down their face as they listen to their beautiful heart filled confession. While Ren and Weiss looked slightly embarrassed by smiled at how affectionate their teammates were. Ren looking at Nora with some stirring feelings in his chest, while Weiss wished she could find that kind of love. While Blake was blushing slightly remembering how in love her parents were. Something that made her wish to see again.

Even Ozpin and Glynda were moved as they listened to the pair.

Yang herself was touched as she looked at the scene and wondered if one day she could have something like what they had. It was clear how in love they were and made her wonder if she had a chance with Jaune. Her father always said to follow her heart, but to make sure it never came between someone else's...

But that didn't mean she couldn't mess with them.

"That's, beautiful…" she admitted as they smiled at her. "But that still doesn't explain…this!" she slammed something down on the table as eyes went wide and face went bright red.

Jaune had wide eyes, Pyrrha had a horrified and blood red face while steam erupted from her head. Ozpin spat his coffee out while Glynda had a stunned red face. Ren's eyes went wide along with Weiss who looked stunned and horrified, while Ruby blushed deeper than her cloak. Blake, on the other hand, had to stop her nose from bleeding as Nora had a somewhat curious and red face.

On the table was a pair of sexy black lingerie that Pyrrha had bought months ago as part of her plan to gain the attention of what she thought would be a pre-war Jaune. But when she found out it was her Jaune, she had completely forgotten about them and stored them away in her closet.

"H-How did you get that?!" she demanded as Yang grinned.

"We searched your room for evidence, and was surprised to find these little numbers," she held up the bra that left little to the imagination as red faces went brighter. "Just how far have you two gone?" she asked with a shark-like grin as Pyrrha stuttered to respond.

Jaune, on the other hand, held the panties in his hand as his mind wandered to Pyrrha wearing these as his faced flashed red and his imagination went to some…hot places.

Pyrrha instantly snapped her head as he held the underwear in his hand as a blush permeated his cheeks. "NOOOOOO!" she screamed as she instinctively kicked Jaune in the face and sent him flying across the room and slam into the glass window. A blood trail following down the glass as he was rendered unconscious with his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

"Holy shit! Jaune!" the others yelled as they watched Jaune get One Hit K.O.'d by Pyrrha.

Before they could even register, Pyrrha sun around as she grabbed Yang and suplexed her into the table. Her eyes rolling into the back of her head as the blond brawler too was rendered unconscious. Nora looked scared as Pyrrha's eyes had gone crazy white as her face was shrouded in shadows that made her eyes glow white as she slowly approached the girl.

"P-Pyrrha?" she asked fearfully as the champions slowly walked towards her.

" _ **No…one…must…know…"**_ she slowly drawled with an empty tone as Nora grew even more scared.

Her screams resonated through the school as the others cowered behind the Glass screen. Nora slammed into the ceiling as she hung by her head while her body dangled in the interrogation room.

Pyrrha's head then swivelled to the glass as they all attempted to run from the girl. But their screams resonated loudly as Glynda and Ozpin watched in muted silence as the screen became nothing but a statistic screen.

"...Oh boy," was all Ozpin could say as Pyrrha rampaged across the campus.

It was on that day everyone had a strange case of amnesia as Pyrrha suplexed and rendered anyone unconscious. It was known as the Red Day and everyone – who managed to keep their memories – swore to never reveal what triggered the red-haired champion ever again. While Pyrrha was embarrassed for the rest of the week.

Though Jaune had some interesting dreams after that, with interesting colours of black lace and red hair…oh my.

* * *

 **And Scene. Well here is the long-awaited Chapter 12. Whew! Sorry, been busy with work and University – studying a bachelor in Animations – that the time slipped by. Sorry, everyone. Still working on Darkness, Knight and Fabled and glad to see people like my stories.**

 **In any case, leave a review and tell me what you think and suggest Omake chapters. Until then, stay tuned for…**

 **Chapter XIII: Knight on the Town**


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